I Know You're Dead, But What Am I?
by Yvearia
Summary: Another pleasantly twisted tale set after D&G. Companion to Dead Promises. New characters discover a fascinating link to the Sookieverse. Eric, Sookie and other favorites will join the cast soon. Life gets pretty twisted... M for language and later chap.
1. January Rain

My name is Tyler Thompson

Waking up from general anesthesia, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure, is almost like being born again, but with a complete awareness of life that's just a little dampened. I'd had the odd surgery here and there, but none that I can remember very well. I'd had tubes in my ears at six months. I'd fallen out of a swing and landed on a pine root when I was four, requiring pins in my hip and a body cast for several months – I'm glad I seem to have blocked that from my memory. When I was fifteen, I'd had some cysts that had to be surgically removed. While uncomfortable, it wasn't enough for general, just a local. And, of course my wisdom teeth removal. That was fun.

I'm twenty years old now, and lying in a stiff, cold hospital bed at Herman Memorial in Houston, Texas. My sister – Austin, 23 – is staring out the window, waiting for me to wake up. Yep, we were named for geographical locations. Awesome, right? The names wouldn't have been too out of place if we had been born boys. But, as girls we were picked on.

My sister is the prettier of the two of us, with her straight, milk chocolate hair and her deep blue eyes. We're both pale and short but those are the only physical characteristics we seem to share. She's got high cheekbones and a strong chiseled nose. Her mouth is really very expressive, though if you don't know her well, you'd think all she's capable of is a frown or a blank stare. She really is happy.

I kind of think of us as the female version of the movie _Twins_. She's Arnold and I'm Danny. Ok, maybe I'm not that bad. I've got large, round, grey pools for eyes. I've still got my baby cheeks, and my hair, while still a shade of brown, is more of a dark chocolate, and wavy. The only difference between us that I like is my nose. It's small and cute and I always thought it looked a little bit like Michelle Pfeiffer's nose. That woman will be gorgeous till the day she dies.

Why Herman Hospital? Two of the bones in my left leg have been broken and I had to have them surgically set with a titanium rod. TibFib open reduction. Whatever that means. Thank God for the insurance. I wasn't in the habit of going to church since before high school, but I wasn't above giving thanks where thanks was due.

"Aus." This was one of my sister's nicknames – terms of endearment. ATX (for the city she was named after), Aussie, Local, and Bat Girl - to name a few. I mumbled her name again. "Austin?" She turned in her seat and leaned forward, a rare smile parting her lips.

"Wake up sleepy head! Or I'll jump up and down on your bed – oops. Ouch! That would hurt huh?" She was way too happy to see me awake. That means she was trying to keep me happy. "You were talkin' some pretty weird stuff while they were pulling you out of it, babe."

"Like what," I asked, yawning. They had me on Vicodin. I hated the stuff. I closed me off and made me itchy and nauseous.

"Gibberish, mostly," she moved over to the bed to straighten the pillows behind me and help me push into a sitting position. "But you kept asking me to explain it to them, like I'd understood anything you were saying. Which I didn't, by the way. But they said that's normal." She shrugged, and settled herself on the edge of the bed.

"How much more time do I have to spend in this place?" I wanted to just be home. I didn't care about the car, or the ticket, or the air cast on my throbbing left leg. I just wanted, my bed, my pillows, and my puppy. "Fuck! Who's got Corgan?"

"Stella."

Stella had been my sister's best friend since Austin's Junior year of high school. I wouldn't ask, and they hadn't said anything, but I knew they were much more than friends. My sister was in and out of relationships with guys, several a year since high school. Stella had had more steady relationships, always with men. But only Stella and I knew that my sister was attracted to both sexes. I have to admit, I think everyone is. It's a conscious decision we make as to who we end up with. If you're only looking in one direction, that's all you're gonna see. If you stop to look around a bit more, things are bound to get a little complicated.

Stella is about five foot five, dirty blonde, green eyed, down to earth, and, oh, did I mention she's a vampire? So pale goes without saying. My sister could do worse.

"I said, they'll let you out tomorrow, if you can master the crutches by dinner."

Austin and I live together in a converted garage apartment on Stella's property. It's in the heart of a sizable wooded community, soon to be annexed by Houston, called Englewood. According to Forbes, it was on the top ten places in the country to live, and though it was obviously inhabited by the wealthy and affluent, it wasn't too elitist – yet.

Stella was wealthy – as most vamps are – and the owner of an independent bookstore near the mall called The Fly Leaf. Austin was the day manager and had met Stella when she started working there as a stocker in high school. I worked there when I couldn't find gainful employment anywhere else, or when they needed a fill in. No doubt, I'd be sitting behind the counter at FL, filling orders and checking out customers till my leg was completely healed.

Aus and I talked some more about the car and my ticket, which I would pay, even though I was convinced the accident hadn't been my fault. I was the only one to get hurt, even. Well, me and the fifty-year-old pine tree that had stopped my car. I hadn't been drinking or under the influence of any other substance; I hadn't even been trying to spare the life of a cute woodland creature darting across my path. I'd just blacked out. For no reason. I couldn't remember being airlifted (though I was told that's what happened) to the hospital. I couldn't remember anything until the brief time I'd come to in the operating room before surgery, when they'd explained the procedure and told me to start counting back from ten. I couldn't remember anything else until I had woken up in this room, looking at my sister staring out into the January rain. I couldn't remember…

That is, until I drifted off to sleep listening to Austin laughing softly at an old sitcom on the hospital TV.

That's when I remembered.


	2. Realization

A/N: For those of you who haven't read Dead Promises, I suggest you do before going further. I could point out a couple of key chapters that tie into the story here, but the truth is, I'm still building this story, and I have a feeling that you'll need more than just a couple of chapters to skim. Though that's entirely up to you. I hope you enjoy this one. I'm not trying for another tear jerker, but let's face it, life isn't always so awesome, so... I promise i'll give you lots of happy Sookie and Eric (That's who were visiting in this Chapter, btw) as well as out new characters!

Enjoy!

***

"_What about artificial insemination?"_

"_No."_

"_Then, Lemon, I want to assist you."_

"_What?!"_

"_With an adoption, Lemon! Good Lord, with an adoption!"_

I stood in my kitchen across from Eric. He was leaning back against the counter sipping his blood. Jason was in the living room with Amelia, chuckling at Alec Baldwin on the TV. Amelia actually got the humor in the show. I can't say the same for Jason. He was laughing because she was laughing. I dropped my gaze to the floor and smirked down at my bare feet, shaking my head. He was an idiot sometimes and a sex hound always, but he was my brother. I was glad to have him back in our old house, at least for a few hours at a time. Eric, of all people (well, all vampires), had encouraged this.

I saw, from the top of my vision (still looking at my feet), Eric shift his stance and begin to move across the space between us. He reached out and placed his hand on the back of my neck, rubbing small circles at the base of my spine. He was sending comfort through our bond. He was trying to stave off the inevitable. He hated tears, and I was sure to shed some once Jason left.

We had ordered pizza, and now I was waiting on the popcorn in the microwave. We had made it a ritual over the last few months. We all got together on Thursday and Saturday nights. Always at the house on Hummingbird Rd. Sometimes Bill or Sam would join us. Pam was usually covering for Eric at the bar, so he could be here with me. I hardly got to see Pam anymore and it was frustrating.

The microwave dinged. "Who wants white cheddar?"

Forty minutes later I shut the door as I watched Jason pull out of my driveway. I was leaning against the door-frame when I heard Amelia start to run her bath. She stuck her head out the door into the hallway and called out to me.

"You stayin' here tonight, Sook?"

"Not sure."

I glanced past the hall as she shut the door to the bathroom again. Eric was sitting at my little kitchen table. He looked completely out of place, and completely content to be. He sat there in down time (something I rarely saw him do these days). Talk about meticulous planning. Apparently that talent extended well beyond their tactical political motivations. Eric was being a hard ass lately. 'Scuse me, but he was. He was trying to keep me motivated and running like a well-tuned machine.

When we had visited the diagnostician in Shreveport three months ago I felt like I was a giant hot air balloon, collapsing inward on myself. I was imploding with such an awesome lack of force, there wasn't any room for anger. Confusion was all consuming. I had this crazy thought that Eric was going to rip the doctor's jugular out for making such a misdiagnosis. It was his voice that brought me back to my senses and the reality that I was, in fact, sitting in this conference room, with a panel of internists, oncologists, and the aforementioned diagnostician. Eric had his hand on my low back, rubbing small circles there, sending calm through the bond to me. He was asking questions and I had the feeling I should be listening.

"Wait, what? I'm sorry." I shook my head trying to bring some sense of balance back into my body, as I felt I would fall out of my chair at any moment. My head. I realized I'd been putting myself at a disadvantage. I tuned into what was hanging at the front of all of their minds.

Cancer.

It wasn't a mistake, as far as they believed.

A doctor was standing up, placing a film on one of those x-ray boxes and moving his hand in a circular motion around a picture of white and dark blotches. _As you can see there are, well, there are a lot of them. There are 28 total tumors in your central body mass. This is indicative of end stage…_

"And there are diets, experimental drugs? Chemo, that would be detrimental at this point, correct?" I was shocked. How did Eric know what to ask? The doctors seemed surprised, but encouraged and began speaking more confidently, addressing the big scary vampire next to me.

They explained that this was a typically slow moving cancer. That the sooner I began treatment of any kind, the better. Though they strongly suggested holding of on chemo and more radical, experimental treatments. With God-knows-how-many years ahead of me, they emphasized maintaining the quality of my life. That was a joke, right? _Quality of my life_? That had consisted of being shot at, stabbed, staked, bitten, kidnapped, raped, tortured, not to mention all the injustices I had suffered at the hands of my own community throughout my life.

My head was spinning.

I must have blacked out, because I came to in Eric's office in Fangtasia. I was lying on his couch. It was dark, the lights were out, and I could hear the bass of the music playing over KDED out on the dance floor.

Eric sat at the end of the couch, cradling my now bare feet in his lap. He was speaking softly into his phone. He quickly flipped the phone closed as my eyes settled on him.

"How did you know?" It was all I could manage, and it seemed the most important of all of my questions.

He lifted my feet from his lap and brought his knees to either side of me, leaning over me, shielding me. "I didn't know." His face was stone. No smirk, no wrinkle of his brow. He was trying so hard to look serious. Too serious. And he was blocking me through the bond.

"Yes you did. Don't lie to me, Eric." I whined and I hated myself for it. But it managed to dent his façade.

"I had an inclination." That wasn't really an answer, was it? He shut his eyes and I cold feel a low rumble. Not the same lustful rumble I usually felt coming from him. This was frustration, and he was holding back the full force of it for my benefit.

"Who were you speaking to?" I was feeling the numbness start to creep back to me. I needed to focus on something else.

Eric sat up straighter, transitioning to work mode. "That was the cancer hospital in Houston. We have arranged to have continual monitoring every three months here in Shreveport, as well as twice a year in the Houston hospital." We hadn't arranged anything, of course. Eric had. He'd taken control of the situation at the hospital today, which I have to admit I was grateful for, and he'd immediately taken on my healthcare as his personal project, which I was furiously resentful of at the moment.

I had no idea how to block my feelings through the bond, but it wouldn't have mattered if I did. I wasn't above being passive aggressive at the moment. Eric, leaned back into a neutral posture, and it made me feel like I was being _handled_.

"Calm down." He wasn't trying anymore either. His irritation was suddenly sweeping over me like a wet blanket on a humid night. "Someone has to be the pragmatist, my dear. I am only trying to make it easier on you.

Like hell he was! I was fuming. I was the one this was happening to – if it was really even happening! Not him. … … … That's not exactly true though, is it? I could tell that much by the constant ebb and flow of our emotions back and forth through the bond. And, as much as I wanted to pretend nothing was happening to me, the fear that my life was coming to an end was a little overwhelming. Maybe I was being melodramatic. The doctors said I could live with this kind of thing for decades. There might even be a cure for cancer in the next few years. For all I knew there already was, and Eric would move heaven and earth to find it for me. He really was the best ally I had in this. Then again, I could die in a car accident long before the creepy little tumors got me.

I must have been sitting there for a few minutes, letting my anger boil over into a mushy self-pitying fear. I felt Eric's arms wrap around me and I heard some choked sobbing sound that really was grating on my nerves. I wished whoever it was would stop. I was almost embarrassed for them. Then I realized it was me.

I collapsed into Eric's hold emitting a choking wet laughter. Oh, that Crazy Sookie.


	3. Stay

A/N: Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I ate myself stupid! Thanks for being patient. Here's another chapter for you guys. The books are real texts, music referred to is _Dead_ by MCR, and the movie at the end is the amazing _Stay_. Hope you all enjoy! I'm not sure how often I'll be updating due to Christmas craziness, but I'll try.

***

It was nearly eleven in the evening when I woke up on the couch in our living room. I'd been home for a few days now, sleeping downstairs, with my foot propped up on pillows. I couldn't make it upstairs to my own room. I had had an attack of nausea and vertigo so badly that I'd taken a sleeping pill and lay still on the couch till it knocked me out. That was almost eight hours ago.

Austin had been home and made dinner - I could smell spaghetti in the kitchen. I felt terrible I had slept through it. Aus was definitely the cook in the family and spaghetti was my favorite. I assessed myself and realized that there was still no way I could keep food down. I was trying to wean myself off of the vicoden so the nausea wouldn't be so bad, but the pain had it's own way of affecting my stomach.

I shifted my weight to sit up and swung my leg off the pillows and over the side of the couch. I heard a half-growl/half-purr come from the foot of the couch. I reached my hand down to scratch the furry head at my feet. Next thing I knew there was the little boy, curling up next to me on the cushion, ears pricked and tail swaying back and forth. "Hey, Corg."

I glanced toward the stairs when I heard someone coming down. It was Stella. I sat still holding Corgan, and watched her walk to the fridge and grab a blood. She turned and lifted her bottle to me before taking a sip. I smiled at her and she smiled back. She walked over to me, neither of us saying a word about Austin, and she scratched Corgan's head. She walked to our front door and stopped there.

"Can you take six-ish till two tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. I'll need a ride."

The next day I took Tylenol instead of the vicoden, ate cold spaghetti, and practiced walking around the living room because I knew I'd be sitting behind the counter most of the night. I made it three full steps before I had to hobble over to the wall to grab my crutches. At six o'clock, just after full dark, Stella knocked on the door to see if I was ready to go.

It was chilly outside and still really wet, but it hadn't affected Stella's typical clothing choice any. Today she had on skinny jeans, black satin heels that I swear were at least four inches high, and a dark grey tunic length tank top. Though she always carried a sweater with her for times when it was socially acceptable to wear one, and I think she thought it made her look more human. Today the sweater was chocolate colored – big, and bulky like an old college sweater from the fifties.

I was certainly feeling the cold. My knee was already starting to stiffen from the healing process, and my feet never would seem to get warm. I had been wearing shorts since I got home from the hospital so I wouldn't have to try to fit pants over my cast. Instead, today I had opted for my only pair of skinny jeans so I could wear the cast over them. I had on a grey thermal camisole and a deep navy boat neck sweatshirt tunic, gloves, a scarf, and a black waterproof ugg on my right foot. My hair was a tangled mess, but as I recall that's in these days, right?

My nose was red from cold before we had made the trek from the apartment to Stella's car down the driveway about twenty-five feet. I climbed in and thanked God my landlord and friend had heated seats in her Land Cruiser. Stella giggled when she saw me reach for the heating controls. Hearing a vampire giggle is always pretty disconcerting. Granted, sometimes it's easy to forget Stella in particular is a vampire, but you never really expect someone so capable of …vampire type things, to giggle.

"I'm going to be in the office most of this evening and your sister is going home in an hour or so. You'll be alright up front by yourself," Stella informed me as she pulled out onto the street. Yeah, I'd be fine as long as no one needed anything off a high shelf in the stock room, which wasn't likely, so I didn't protest at being left to myself tonight.

At FL, the shelves in the middle of the floor were about chest high, which was convenient for customers, and the shelves lining the walls all had those ladders on rails going all the way up the floor to ceiling height, which I loved. All the furniture in the store was second hand – broken in but still very nice – and eclectic. The lighting was another favorite thing of mine about FL. There were sets of those large-bulb garden string-lights hung from ceiling to floor in every corner; in the reading areas, old Moroccan glass lanterns had been retrofitted with lamp kits and cast a warm glow over the sofas and coffee tables. There wasn't a café in the store, which I also liked – we were all about books here, people – but we allowed food and drinks to be brought in. The music reflected the choices of the staff working that particular shift. I had a Pandora station that I was about to tune into once I got settled behind the counter. The 'counter' was a set of three old library desks laid out end to end. There were two registers and three laptops laid out across their worn surface. It was a total, laid back atmosphere. It was my second home.

The drive from the house to the store takes less than five minutes and there's usually not much that can be said in that time, so we resorted to the iPod. _Dead_ was the song of the moment, and Stella had a smirk on her face the entire drive.

She helped me out of the vehicle and handed me my crutch (I'd insisted on only taking one), and headed to hold the door open for me. It was warm inside and Austin had some god-awful girl-emo music on. But it smelled like books – that grateful old musty smell – and cinnamon apples (from the oil burner on the counter). I took off my scarf and gloves and tossed them in the bin behind the counter with Austin's purse and jacket. I sat down in the old ergonomic-style desk chair and pulled the laptop closer to the edge of the counter. This was going to be a pretty dead evening from the looks of it. I might as well entertain myself.

Stella had entered the office about four and a half hours ago and I hadn't seen her since. Austin left three hours ago and promised to be back before midnight with something for me to eat. I'd filled the order for the next two weeks, inventoried our books on hold, called several people whose special orders were about to be re-shelved, edited my radio station, and now I was watching a movie on the extra laptop. A few people had wandered in and out, either hanging around and reading or making quick selections and leaving. I'd seen maybe ten people since I got here and made about seventy-five bucks. Like I said, it was dead tonight.

I heard the bell ding as the door opened bringing the cold-wet in along with a blonde couple. "Welcome to the Fly Leaf," I said weakly, turning back to the movie on the screen.

"_Did he say anything about me?"_

"_No, he didn't say anything about you. I don't think Leon even knows you."_

"_That's my father, he knows me."_

"_Now listen. Now I've known Leon a long time. He doesn't have any chil-"_

"_Don't say that. Don't fucking say that! What are you doing? You think I don't recognize my own father?"_

"_Henry, you told me your father was dead."_

"_He is dead. He's dead and that's him walking out the fucking door!" _

"_The man walking out the door is alive and well."_

"_I saw all the blood and I watched him die."_

"Excuse me."

I looked up, hitting the spacebar to pause my DVD. I'd been totally engrossed. "Hi, I'm so sorry. What can I do for you?" There was a pretty blonde woman leaning on the counter in front of me. She looked kind of pale and tired, but then everybody does this time of year.

"Oh, that's alright." She smiled brightly. "I guess ya'll are getting kind of slow around this time of night. I'd be trying to entertain myself too."

"Yeah, we close at two and I'm in for the long haul. So… need help finding something?" I tried to smile back as brightly, but my leg was really starting to protest the lack of pain killers and the bookstore Tylenol stash was running dangerously low.

"Oh, I called a few hours ago, looking for a couple of books. You said you'd pull 'em for me." She smiled again, it looked almost practiced, and hardly genuine. She seemed nice enough, just not too excited at the moment. It was the strangest thing, as soon as I thought that, she seemed to really smile for just a second, like she'd heard me. Ok. Creepy.

"Yep." I swiveled around in my chair to grab the stack for her. "Stackhouse, right?" It was an unusual assortment containing _Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips, One Renegade Cell, Yoga as Medicine, Body Mind _and those were just from the health and internal medicine section. There was also loads of science fiction, the entire _Harper Connelly _series, and some Nick Hornby and Alice Sebold. This girl liked to read.

"That's me," she said. I guess I looked like I was having some trouble with the pile of books and my leg, because she was beside me in moments, helping me lift the tomes onto the counter.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I've broken a few bones myself." She cringed when she said it and I got the feeling it was more than just a few. As I straightened up in my seat, I saw another golden haired individual towering in front of me. I had to keep myself from staring so I began scanning each book and placing them in the bags. I'm sure this woman was used to people staring at her boyfriend, but that had to get old.

My left wrist started itching like fire as I was bagging the books. I had a heart tattooed there, but it was well healed and several years old. I was trying to think of what kind of bug bite I had gotten in January, when I finished scanning and read them the total.

"It's gonna be one thirty-six thirteen." More money than I'd made all night.

The boyfriend standing behind her handed me a credit card, grabbing her hand and stopping it from reaching for hers. The card said _E. Northman_ and I was about to ask to see his I.D. when he smiled at me – smiled that disconcerting Vampire smile. I cleared my throat and slid the card trough the register.

"Eric!" The woman chided. I handed him the bags (no, I didn't ask if he needed any help to the car) and his card and told them to have a great night. She gave me another glimpse of her real smile and thanked me for my help, and they were out the door.

My arm was really hurting now, not only itching. I glanced down and saw what looked like a tattoo, fading. There were words. They didn't look English, and I could only make out a few letters before the image was gone completely. The pain and the itching were gone as well. Suddenly the movie began playing again. And I got a sick, creepy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"_Sometimes we don't want to remember, but I think we have to try."_

"_What the fuck do you know? What the fuck do you know? You don't know anything! Everything you know is a fucking lie!"_


	4. Avia

It was our second trip to M. D. Anderson in the Houston Medical Center. January 24, 2007 had marked one year since diagnosis. Not a date I was looking forward to celebrating, but Eric… well, sometimes I think he'd use anything as an excuse to celebrate in full Vampire fashion – meaning expensively, of course. And he decided we'd celebrate by turning this doctor's visit into a sort of vacation.

On our first visit, I had made the reservations (I'd insisted, and pretty much threw a fit until he agreed), and we were supposed to stay at a Holiday Inn Express near the Medical Center that had recently converted one eighth of the hotel to vampire friendly accommodations. Of course as soon as Eric's travel coffin opened, we had to move our things over to The Westin Oaks and drive thirty minutes across town to get to my appointment the next evening.

This time it was even worse. We were an hour away from the hospital (not that I like staying near the hospital, but it's an issue of convenience), and in what they called a _boutique hotel_. I didn't even want to think about what the room cost each night. We had a king sized bed and a king sized bathroom to go along with it. It was equipped with a soaker tub to rival most hot tubs, and a gigantic shower. There was a separate sitting room with a 52" LED, a cute little table and two chairs, an enormous dark blue velvet sofa, and a mini fridge, stocked with AB negative.

Hotel Avia was in a posh little area of Englewood, Tx called The Market, which bragged about their five star dinning, shopping and entertainment. I have to admit, it was pretty fancy. The hotel was built up in the corner of a little manmade village area, with at least a dozen high dollar restaurants, tons of little clothing and lingerie shops, high-end furniture stores, and a Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery. They even had an old-fashioned 5-screen movie theater with a retro marquis. And that was just this block of Englewood. There were more restaurants and theaters and malls and shopping centers and Starbucks strewn all over town apparently. I found myself wondering what people did here other than shop.

I had two appointments scheduled for tomorrow and then we could go back to Shreveport for another six months if all my scans and blood work were showing slow progression. I hated to think about it. It was like "hurry-up-and-wait". So I decided I'd just do a little window-shopping till Eric woke up.

I had about an hour, so I decided I would just walk around the little shopping area and come straight back. I knew he wanted to go out tonight and I needed to give myself a little bit of time to get ready. I grabbed my purse and headed for the door, making sure I had one of the two room keys I'd received at check in.

It was getting cold outside and the concierge (one of my favorite words!) said it had been raining all week. I was bundled up in my cranberry red coat (a gift from Eric) and a black scarf and mittens. It wasn't raining right at the moment, but the streets were still wet and I was grateful I had worn my tennis shoes, though my feet would have stayed warmer in boots.

I walked across the side street toward the marquis at the movie theater. It was playing _Pan's Labyrinth, Blood Diamond, Smokin' Aces, Children Of Men, _and_ Letters From Iwo Jima_. I hoped Eric wasn't going to take me to see a movie. I didn't think we'd be able to agree on any of the films playing tonight. I stepped across another street and walked into the Starbucks. The smells were delicious, but I had no idea what to order. I usually drank plain old Folgers with sugar and milk.

"Hi, what can I get started for you today?" a perky teenage girl with a nose ring asked as soon as I made it up to the counter.

"Not sure," I plastered on my best dumb blonde smile. "But somethin' smells like Christmas in here. What is that?"

"Pumpkin Spice Latte or our Caramel Apple Latte. I love the caramel apple but the pumpkin's only gonna be around for a few more weeks. It's a seasonal thing."

"Apple thingy." I had noticed on the menu above her head that it was cheaper. "Tall." I indicated the smallest. I handed her my bills, collected my change, and decided to people watch while I waited for my drink. There was a little blonde girl with glasses sitting in a chair in the corner doing the same thing. "Hi," I said shyly. "Mind if I sit here?" I indicated the empty seat next to her.

"Sure, go ahead." In that sentence she seemed older than she looked. "I'm just waiting on my husband," she smiled when she said it. She was thinking it was cold and this place would always remind her of when they'd decided to keep the baby. But then they'd lost it anyway. I was letting my guard down and I felt guilty for listening to something so personal.

"I see you've been to a bookstore?" I asked her by way of changing the subject. She was peeling a price tag off the back of a sci-fi book.

"Yeah. The Fly Leaf. It's on the corner over across from Bath Junkie. You can't miss it. It's a great little indie shop. We love it." Now she was thinking of her husband who was going to get the car. They'd spent the day at the bookstore and he'd been looking for books he could have her mail to him when he was in Iraq. He'd be leaving in a few months for California and then ship out from there in June. Her due date had been two weeks after his deployment. At least he wouldn't miss it now.

I shook my head to get out of hers and I realized my drink had been sitting at the end of the bar getting cold. I thanked her and wished her luck (which probably confused the hell out of her) and went in search of The Fly Leaf. I spotted the shop as she'd described it, on the corner across from a store called Bath Junkie. I glanced at my watch. I'd managed to kill forty minutes. Just then the rain was beginning to fall in big, fat drops. I decided to head back to the hotel and to warmth.

When I got inside, I called information and had them connect me to the bookstore. I spoke to a young woman and had her gather some things for me. Some mysteries I'd been meaning to get around to, and a couple of alternative healing books I had been researching at home. Eric and I had made a deal. I told him I wasn't going to let this thing turn my life upside down. I was determined to live as normally as I could, and that meant, no crazy diets or trips to see mystics or anything like that. He agreed as long as I stayed open to alternative medicine and agreed to educate myself about my disease. That sounded fair to me and I was holding up my end.

As I sat in the ginormous bathtub, I thought to myself how blessedly devoid of drama my life had been over the past year. It was really very strange. I cringed as the thought poped into my head, but it was almost like going so long off the supe radar meant the next big thing was going to be really big. It gave me goose bumps. Like I was living on borrowed time anyway, and my debt was about to be called in. I couldn't get it out of my head and it was ruining what would otherwise have been a very lovely bath.

I finished my business in the bathroom and walked out into the bedroom to get dressed. Eric was sprawled luxuriously across the king sized, waiting for me.

"Perfect," he practically purred at me, as I walked out in my jeans and a black lace bra (I'd kind of been hoping he'd notice the bra).

"Eric, I doubt I'd be allowed anywhere outside this room looking like this. And it's cold!"

He laughed and tossed me something thin and red. Though it was sweater material, it didn't promise much warmth. It was a thin close fitting cranberry read cardigan. It only had five buttons in front and a plunging v-neckline. But I was proud of my ability to please the eye (especially Eric's eye) and I smirked my best and slipped into it. It went well with my dark jeans and little black ankle boots, and I wondered when he had had the chance to slip it into my bag unnoticed. Maybe it had been Pam.

I leaned in toward the vanity mirror and applied light touches of mascara and eyeliner as I watched Eric in the mirror getting dressed. Black on blue with boots. Go figure. Only instead of a black t-shirt, he wore a nice long-sleeved black v-neck. He placed his hands on my shoulders as I was applying my lip-gloss. I sat it down and stared at us both in the mirror.

We looked at each other in silence for a few minutes. Then he grabbed a new sleek black cotton trench with silver buttons, and slid it over my arms and onto my back.

"Where are we going?" I looked up into his pure blue eyes. At that moment, I didn't care what the answer was.

"Dinner and a movie?" He smiled. I groaned as I started to care a little more. "Are you not hungry? Isn't that the essential date activity?"

"How about, dinner and the bookstore?"

"No movie?" He looked a little disappointed. And confused. For a second I wondered what movie he had wanted to see and I hoped it wasn't _Smokin' Aces_.

"No movie."


	5. Box Shaped

A/N: Wow, three chapters in two days and this one is worth two, so that's like (1,2,3...) four chapters! This is what comes of not sleeping due to a double ear infection. Anyway, this is more E/S, but I promise to get back to Tyler soon. Sookie, just had a lot to say today. Also, don't be surprised if Eric begins to narrate soon. He's been gone a while and I've missed out conversations. So the song I'd like you to listen to for the sexy scene in this chapter is _40 Miles From The Sun_ by Bush.

As always, enjoy (and please review),

~Y

***

I could have my pick for dinner, Eric said. All the restaurants had blood. We walked past the huge building at the center of The Market that boasted 'gourmet backyard cuisine'. It smelled like heaven but the prices on the menu posted outside the door, and the portion sizes I glimpsed of the plates on the patio turned me off. I also thought we were both a bit under dressed for that place. There were a few other nice places, Caribbean food, Italian food, and a couple of diner style restaurants, but I decided on a middle ground. I'd never had sushi before, but it looked like a nicer, casual place that would probably have some kind of cooked food for me and some better quality blood for Eric. It was called Uni.

Eric held the door for me and I headed straight for the hostess station. The little girl behind the desk looked up, past me (of course) and practically started fanning herself with the wine menu.

"Table for two. Now, if you please." I could hear the irritation and impatience in his voice. She scrambled for the dinner menus and turned to wave another girl over to the desk. I turned back and gave him a sick-y-sweet smile.

"It's your own fault." I said under my breath, as the new girl led us to a quiet booth toward the back of the room. She sat the wine menu in the center of the table and placed the large, leather-bound dinner menu in front of me. She was about to do the same for Eric when I shook my head. She looked confused until she turned and saw him flash a bit of fang. I kicked him under the table and cursed under my breath at the sharp pain stabbing back through my big toe. Stupid.

"That won't be necessary," he was smiling now, for real, probably because I'd hurt myself at his expense. What a nice vampire boyfriend I had. "True Blood, AB negative if you've got it."

She turned around and scurried off to the bar like a poor little puppy with her tail between her legs. I looked at Eric and raised my eyebrows. Was I officially invisible? I guess I was just used to the fangbanger's at Fangtasia. They knew me and they knew their master's wishes were for me to be treated with equal respect to Pam or himself. Before I could say anything, though, she was back and crouched down at the table apologizing for her mistake.

"And what will your wife be having this evening, Sir?"

She _didn't_! Not only am I not worthy of being spoken to, but she was going the manipulative route of trying to find out how attached he was! Bitch. And that's exactly what she was doing too. I know. So there, I _can_ call her a bitch.

Eric must have felt my irritation through the bond. He was none too impressed with her so far. Though to be fair, she hadn't committed any wait staff faux pass. She was just too infatuated with my significant other. And he's pretty significant to me.

"Why don't you ask her?" He growled out at her, letting his fangs drop a fraction of an inch more.

"Oh, of course. I'm terribly sorry. Where is my mind tonight?" She was rambling and I was trying to send calm across the bond to Eric. He really shouldn't be getting this upset over a waitress and I didn't want to add any fuel to the fire at this point. I didn't wait for her to pose the question to me.

"Ice water, no lemon." I said with the sweetest smile I could muster. I mentally sent her off with good thoughts and a warning, hopping she might pick up on it. At this point it was more than her tip she should be worried about.

"Why?" Eric pipped up once our drinks had arrived and the waitress had taken my dinner order.

"Why, what? I'm sorry." I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Why is it my fault? You seemed emphatic that their stupidity and laziness is my fault. Why?" I just smiled in response. He was back on that again? "I do not believe it is so. Convince me."

I began laughing to myself. That silly novel that had everything wrong. Amelia had given it to me for Christmas as a joke since the movie was coming out next year. What was it the girl had said in the Italian restaurant when the waitress ignored her? "You dazzle them." I couldn't help but laugh harder at the look on Eric's face.

"Is this a 'sparkly vampire' thing?" I nearly choked on the water I had just sipped. He even employed the air quotes. All I could do was laugh and nod my head.

Once I had regained myself and was breathing again, I had to explain. "First of all, when you consider the readership, and the fact that the books were begun before you guys came out of the coffin, it's a decent literary work." He began shaking his head in disgust. "Secondly, I meant that you disarm them. You look beautiful and like every girl's dream, and then you open your mouth and scare them so bad they're shakin' in their shoes."

A grin spread across his face and I realized I'd just inflated his head about two sizes. I had a mental image of the cartoon x-ray from _The Grinch_ and how it burst when his heart grew. Then I thought of Eric in a Santa suit and my mind was suddenly walking a fine line with the gutter.

Just then, my food arrived. Goyoza dumplings and tempura fried scallops. The dumplings were warm and sticky with ground pork and cabbage inside and a sweet and salty dipping sauce. I did away with my chopsticks and used the fork the waitress offered me. I didn't care that Eric laughed. It's not like he could eat with them either, so why make fun of me. The scallops were lightly battered and fried with another kind of sweet sauce for dipping. They came with fried sliced jalapenos and onions too. Yum. I don't think I said two words until my plate was cleaned. I hadn't realized how hungry I'd been. I had a late breakfast around eleven this morning and that was just toast and coffee, then nothing else until the apple cider at Starbucks.

I was folding and unfolding my napkin in my lap as I thought.

"Lover?"

I started and looked across the table where Eric was sitting, staring at me with an amused look on his face. "Huh?" How eloquent, Sook. I could really be dense. I shook my head at myself, then looked back at Eric, waiting for his answer.

"You were smiling. Really smiling. It's gone now. A pity." Here he let his fangs run fully extended. "So beautiful when you smile."

"I'm just having a good time, I guess," I whispered barely audibly. He still had the ability to make me blush. The waitress was bringing back the credit card slip for Eric to sign. She handed him the little book and inclined her head slightly.

"Have a great evening, Mr. and Mrs. Northman." She took the book back from Eric and scurried off. My jaw nearly hit the floor as I finally realized that I'd never set the record straight about the whole wife-thing earlier. And Eric had just gone along with it. He was standing behind me, pulling out my chair before I had a chance to recover. Then we were standing outside under the theater marquis, and he was asking me something.

"Where next? Where is this bookstore you wish to visit?"

I pointed the way.

Forty minutes later, we were bundled up on the bed upstairs and I was going through my piles of books. Skimming pages here and there and separating them by category. Eric was on his PDA with Pam and Felicia, and maybe even Bill (If I had vampire hearing, I'd know for sure, but I don't, so I don't). I was getting seriously cold so I decided to take one of my books and try another soak in the enormous tub. A girl can never be too clean when she's got a tub that big at her disposal.

I started the water and climbed in when it had reached a pleasantly scalding temperature. I left my book sitting on the floor and leaned my head back while the water filled the tub. I remembered the waitress's error from earlier and decided to mull that one over for a few minutes at least.

Marry a vampire? Not like the thought had never crossed my mind, but not seriously. At least not since Bill tore my heart out and, well… lets not go there. What's done is done. Then when Eric informed me we had basically married in the vampire community because of that damned ceremonial knife I was too freaking angry to seriously consider the implications of it. What did he think about all of this? We were sometimes living together now, unless I wanted to be back at my home for a while, and then he usually stayed with me there, unless work kept him away. We didn't use the term dating, or boyfriend/girlfriend. It just kind of was what it was. Damn. Was that what this was? How could I be so stupid?

I nearly jumped out of the bath as Eric silently entered and sat on the floor next to the tub. "Jesus, Eric!"

"You are tense and apprehensive, my lover. What is wrong?" He was scowling down at me. Even though he was seated he was still looking down on me. He had something in his hand. Something small and… velvet. I gulped. It was box shaped. I glanced from his hand back to his face. He looked upset and it took me a minute to remember he was feeling everything I was feeling. I had to learn how to do that blocking the bond thing he does so well. "Calm down. Now. You're about to panic and I don't like it. Tell me."

I grabbed on to all of the negativity and anxiety and shoved it down as hard as I could. I put a lid on it and locked the door and a few other metaphors that came to mind. We'll see if that works. "Random panic attack," I don't lie well.

"It was not. But you won't tell me what it was. You seem better now." He leaned in and kissed my forehead before standing up. "I worry about you, dear one. I have a small gift when you are ready to come to bed." He wiggled his eyebrows in that way that made me giggle, and left the bathroom.

I heard him shedding his clothing and I couldn't wait much longer. I climbed out of the tub and grabbed my lilac model robe off the counter. I wrapped it around and belted the tie loosely before heading out to the bedroom.

The lights were turned down to a dim glow and I couldn't find Eric anywhere. I thought he might be out on the private balcony and as I headed over to the balcony door I felt his hand close around my wrist. "Shhh." He hushed me before I could even open my mouth. He slid his other arm around my waist and pulled my back up against his chest. I was hard pressed for something intelligible to say. I was afraid if I opened my mouth only a garbled mess would float out.

I could feel his cold body through my robe and it gave me chills. He leaned down to kiss the hair that lay across my shoulder and I felt him graze my neck with an extended fang. I was melting in his hands. While he had me distracted, one of those hands had successfully untied my robe and it was being slipped off my shoulders and falling to the floor. I could feel my breathing begin to race and I knew he was loving every agonizing minute of it. He finally turned me around to face him.

His smile was bright enough to light up the room. It made me forget all of my apprehension from earlier.

He arched an eyebrow at my reaction and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "And you say I can't glamor you?" Oh, glamor wasn't quite the word for it. While he was this close, holding my body up against his, I felt his fingers reaching up, inside. I let out a small sound – something like a squeak, I'm sure – and Eric rumbled with laughter deep in his chest. "Lie down for me," he whispered in that ever so leading way. All I could manage was to nod once and allow him to help me to the floor.

I thought he would go down then, bringing me to a climax right before sinking his teeth in to my femoral artery. He thought differently. His hand still working diligently, he brought his body over me and began kissing me, softly and deeply at the same time. He scraped my lip with a fang and I managed not to whimper at the initial discomfort, in favor of the pleasure that followed. His kisses changed then, less tongue and he was gently sucking on my lower lip, moaning a little on his own. At that point, all I wanted was him inside me, but he wasn't giving in.

He lifted himself off of me and helped me stand indicating I should lie on my stomach over the edge of the bed. I shivered. This was one of my favorite ways to receive oral sex and he knew it. He leaned over my back, kissing my neck and nibbling at my ear, playing with his fangs against my skin and his fingers inside me. Without warning his tongue replaced his fingers and his hands were firmly placed on either side of my hips, pulling me closer to him. He tortured me, going back and forth from a light teasing touch to broad slow strokes and somewhere in between. When I began to come, he thrust his fingers inside me again and bit down hard on my hip. He took very little before he had me turned around and sitting in his lap on the floor, legs straddling him. He pulled me down onto him and I breathed out as though I had been holding my breath for days. The feelings we were both having were magnified trough the bond and it was like riding a wave of warm light. It was like coming home. I rested my head on his shoulder and let his hands guide me up and down, slowly at first, then more rapidly as he began to reach his own release. I knew, not for the first time, that when he came, I would come again too.

"Do it. Sookie!" I realized he wanted me to bite him. It was usually easier if he cut himself but I wasn't about to spoil the moment. I nuzzled into his shoulder and bit as hard as I could. I tried not to think of the nasty scar it would leave if he weren't a vampire and then the sweetness of his blood hit the back of my throat. It was something I had grown to enjoy – not least of all because it gave Eric such pleasure. He cried out in his language, words I should know the meaning of by now, and we both came with such force it knocked us to the ground.

We lay there for a few moments before he felt me shiver and lifted me up to the bed.

"Does it bother you, that we don't last as long since the bond has gotten stronger?" He was lying next to me, sweeping my hair across one of my nipples playfully.

"Why should it bother me?"

"We don't have marathon sex anymore. Thought you'd miss it."

"Do you miss it?"

"Well…" How could I put it tactfully? "I'm not the one with endless stamina. Sometimes a girl gets tired." I cringed. I had sounded way better in my head. "That's not the point. Just answer me."

Eric nearly snorted as he looked down at me. "We come sooner and in time with one another because we feel each other all the more strongly. That is not a bad thing. Though, just because I come, does not mean I can't come again." He smirked at me. "Would you like another round?"

"So, you've been letting me rest?" I asked incredulously.

"Your body needs rest sometimes, Dear One." His voice became soft and suddenly I was reminded of Bob the Cat, sitting in my lap, purring. "I have a small gift for you." He pulled out the small velvet box from under a pillow, which seemed immensely silly to me at the time, and held it out for me to open. I decided this would be a good time for me to test my newly acquired skills at blocking the bond. I shut the lid and locked the door… and opened the box.

Inside lay the softest pair of deep brown feathers. At the base, where the quill would have been, there was white gold wire wrapped around many times and a small, perfect amber bead sat atop that. There were tiny, delicate white gold hooks above the beads. They were beautiful.

"Earrings?" He took one from it's nest in the box and brushed my hair away from my ear as he gently slid the metal trough my ear lobe.

"There is much mysticism that surrounds the feather. There are Celtic stories, and Native American stories. Even your Christian faith has a symbolism using the feather. But my favorite tale is that of Ma'at. She is the Egyptian goddess of justice. She will weigh the hearts of the newly dead against the weight of a feather to determine the worthiness of the soul."

"They're beautiful, Eric. Thank you."

"I'm actually amazed that you would accept such frivolity. Though they do have a practical application." I raised my eyebrows in question as he placed the other earring in my ear. "Brown feathers are often said to promote health, sex, courage and protection. Ask your witch. She will tell you they have powers of defensive magic."

"Awe, and here I thought you were just being romantic." I giggle to show him I wasn't serious.

He leaned back on his elbows and looked at me. "I wonder. What _did_ you think I was doing? What did you think was in the box, Sookie?"


	6. Where Did You Go?

I made myself get up early today, pulling on the same clothes I'd worn to work last night, and convincing Austin to let me bring Corgan up to FL and spend the day there. For one thing, I didn't feel like being alone in the apartment all day. Two, I was pretty sure I'd be working again tonight. And last of all, I had some research to do. All I told Aus was that I was bored.

I was nervous to have the dog at the store with me. He was three years old and still pretty hyper, though he was beginning to settle down pretty well. I had gotten him when I was seventeen, just before our parents had died. I hadn't had a lot of time to spend training him the first year. I was struggling to finish up high school so I could move in with Austin. I got emancipated pretty quickly after the deaths and managed to graduate early in January. Then I had to gather up all of my things, make sure the house sold, and make the move across the state, back home to my sister's apartment in Englewood. It was a pretty stressful year. I'd had my parents attorney to help make sure all the legal paperwork was in order, but sometimes I feel like, Austin was so far removed from everything, and I was dealing with most of the finite details, I had grown up to some degree faster than she had.

Then there was Corg. He was like my own personal project. I had taken on the responsibility before I had anything more important to deal with, and I would be damned before I backed out of it. Poor guy got ignored a lot though. Now I think I baby him to make up for it. But he's too sweet not to. He's a little cardigan corgi mix, black and grey with blue eyes. I named him after a musician, but everyone thinks it's because of his breed. He's not terribly bright, but he'll do anything to make me happy, so I can usually use that as a training device.

This morning he was in rare form. He curled up in the floorboard of Austin's Camry and just looked up at me with those bright little eyes full of love. We got to the store and he walked with slack on the leash, situated himself on the floor next to my chair, and comically, rolled over on his back with his feet in the air and went to sleep. Austin made me the deal that she'd bring me the books I asked for as long as I was the one to walk the dog every two hours or so. I could deal with that.

I started my task with the notepad I had grabbed last night. I'd shoved a couple of dollars into the register this morning to cover for it. I had written down a couple of things before I left the store, and apparently I'd woken up in the night and added to it. I usually remembered waking at night, and I hadn't sleepwalked since I was a little girl, so that was unusual.

Try to remember

Pain/itchy

Tattoo?

m'ai peu becou pas folie du tou???

Then, and this was weird:

February

Feathers

Hair BURNING

When I read that, the hairs on my arm started to stand up. I figured it must have been a dream that prompted me to start writing last night so I had ATX pull all the books on dreaming in our database, then I started pouring over those and some psychology texts I had looked up before I locked up last night. I read about visual and sensory hallucinations and possible causes. It was all pretty scary. I had no history of mental illness and the lists of diseases that could contribute to these kinds of hallucinations we're pretty out there. I knew for a fact I hadn't done mushrooms or jimson weed. By two o'clock, I was tired of reading and starting to get really hungry. It was a bit warmer outside today than yesterday so I told my sister I was going to head across the street to Potbelly's and I'd bring some food back for us. She kept Corg up front under the counter until I came back and we had meatball subs, Zapps chips and diet Dr. Pepper. With my brain and tummy full, I decided to take advantage of the couch in Stella's office and get a few hours of sleep before I started my shift behind the counter tonight. I lay down on my side and Corgan curled up against my chest. I was smiling for the moment.

You know how sometimes you can only remember snippets of a dream and other times it's like watching a movie in HD? Try combining the two. This is what was happening to me while I slept.

I saw a man. He looked familiar but I couldn't quite place him. He was crouched down in front of a headstone. The stars were out. He turned to face me and my vision blurred into a blinding light. When it cleared the man was gone and there was a woman standing across a grassy expanse. She was fair and her hair was blowing back, glowing in sort of a halo effect around her upper body. As she came closer, the brightness that encompassed her darkened, and her hair began to burn. Then everything went black. I heard a melody, familiar but I couldn't quite place it. Then I saw myself in a grey mist with a cloud of black downy feathers swirling around me. I started screaming, but no sound came out.

I sat straight up on the couch in Stella's office. I couldn't catch my breath. It took a minute for my vision to clear and I realized I wasn't alone. Stella was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, leaning on the edge of the cushion near my feet. She was in that dazed state they fall into sometimes. I blinked my eyes a few times to make sure I was finally awake. "What the fuck?" I whispered but it still brought Stella back to the here and now.

"I couldn't wake you. I didn't smell any drugs or alcohol. Your sister is worried."

"What time is it?" My head was throbbing and my leg was worse. I felt like I had just run a mile on the healing bones.

"Ten thirty. Abel is out there alone. I think he's managing, though, for your benefit." She was talking about her great nephew. Stella looked about twenty-one but she was more like seventy years old. Five years ago she had tracked down her descendants. Her sister's daughter and grandson were willing to bring her into their lives. She was one of the first vampires to re-associate with their living human relations. She was very unconventional as far as vampires were concerned.

Abel was eighteen and a junior at the local UT branch. He was studying psychology and working part time for his aunt whenever he had a chance. He was tall, dark and overconfident. But he was good company when I was stuck behind the counter for a long shift and business was slow. I had been looking forward to spending the evening catching up with him. And now he'd worked better than half of the shift alone.

I glanced at the end table where I had lain out my research, the notepad and my laptop. The pad now rested in Stella's lap and she was twirling the pen swiftly through her fingers. I needed some caffeine. I needed some kind of normal. Where was the dog?

"Stella?"

"Your sister took him home. I'm supposed to call her when you wake up. She's going to have questions. What's going on inside your head, little girl? Where did you go for all that time?"


	7. Sleeping

I sat across the small room from Sookie and the phlebotomist. She had already received her CT scan. The solution she had to drink this morning looked like spoiled milk. This was the last test of the day and we would be called in for a consultation tomorrow. I watched as her blood began to flow along the plastic tubing and hit the end of the test tube with force. As much blood as they were insisting on taking from her, she would be weak as a newborn by the time we left the hospital. I was less than pleased. I sat there as the minutes passed, watching the young man in mauve scrubs remove and replace tube after tube. Halfway through the process Sookie became nauseous. He had to stop for a moment and begin again.

I left the lab on the second floor with Sookie leaning heavily on me. She smiled up at me as the elevator doors closed and we descended to the parking garage. "I got a cookie," she laughed softly. I knew she was trying to ease my mind and for her benefit I conceded to smile back. No use upsetting her more than she already was.

She was asleep before I pulled the rental car back up to street level. I was loath to wake her, exhausted as she was. I carried her through the hotel lobby, to the elevators, up to our room. I had planned a relaxing evening for her in our room – room service, a movie, champagne and a bath. There was no reason I could not put that on hold in favor of her rest. She obviously needed it.

I laid her gently on top of the bed and would let her rest for a few hours. If she had not awoken on her own by that time, I would change her clothing, tuck her under the blankets and watch her sleep. Now it was time to deal with business.

I shrugged out of my coat and tossed it over the back of one of the sitting room chairs. My laptop was plugged in and charging on the small table in the corner. I reached for the remote and turned on the television, tuning into the news. I didn't want Sookie hearing anything she wasn't already privy to if she woke up in the meantime. I checked the battery on my PDA and decided to let it charge for a bit before making my phone calls this evening. Instead I hunted for a blood and the microwave.

As I watched the bottle turn in the microwave, I listened to the announcer on the news station state that the death toll of the North American Ice Storm had reached eighty-five at final count. Houston was hit considerably by the freezing temperatures a week ago, and forced us to postpone our trip. Other than that, it seemed the top stories were centered around Windows Vista, tennis, and a racehorse's euthanasia. All of little importance.

I removed the blood from the microwave and swirled it around in the bottle to alleviate hotspots. I turned the TV volume up a few clicks and sat down in front of my laptop. I logged into Bill's database. I have conveniently fallen upon an all access account registration (Bill is nothing if not loyal – even if that loyalty is out of respect for Sophie-Anne). It has taken a deal of effort but, as an all access administrator (of whom all are anonymous), I have been able to keep most of my personal information out of the database. New entries are submitted and subsequently rejected. In this way, Bill and myself are able to keep the strictest control over the information we are feeding Victor. For Victor is Felipe de Castro's 'ace' in the Louisiana territories.

It disgusts me and makes Bill considerably disagreeable, but I have spent the past eighteen months tearing down what Sophie-Anne fought so hard to build through the vampire database. It is a necessary evil. With a few minor changes here and there of wording, or information 'slips', it is easy to sew seeds of doubt, and Bill has provided us with the ideal tool for the sewing.

There are few vampires left in the territories that are capable of pledging fealty to Felipe through Victor and still remaining loyal to the old regime. If all were centered near Shreveport, suspicions would thrive, and so, many of our allies lie in different jurisdictions these days, which makes doing business that much more tedious, and that much more worth the effort.

Pamela and Bill are my first arsenal. It is important to groom their profiles to display just enough malice and intrigue to imply accurate vampire goings on, while shielding other possible alliances and assets that could be of use to us at a later date.

I was editing an entry on Pam's time spent alone in the Midwest, when my phone began to vibrate.

"Yes."

"I trust you and Sookie are staying warm?"

"Compton. I expect this isn't simply a call after my well-being. As for Sookie," I looked over at her then, sleeping in the bedroom. I knew Bill would never completely let her go. He hadn't been the one faced with losing her forever, and he was jealous for that. Idiot. "She is exhausted. I've just put her to bed and I'm listening to the sounds of her sleeping." Let him take that as he would.

"She was supposed to have quite a bit of blood taken today." How did he know that? "She e-mailed me your itinerary. How is she feeling?"

"Well cared-for." I said nothing more, and he deserved nothing more. I let a faint hint of venom into my tone.

"I see you've been data basing," Compton supplied by way of changing the subject. "I received some interesting reports about your time in California. I destroyed them, as I assumed they were fictitious. Of course."

"Of course." I tried to keep the smile out of my voice.

"Have you made contact with Walker?"

"No. I will before I make the trip back. Can you make a trip out to New Jersey?"

"Now?" He sounded taken aback.

"In a few days. There's a new drug on the market, and I've called for a shipment to be delivered to the LSU Cancer Center, but someone must accompany it. You might also meet a girl in a coffee shop near Princeton. You should have a good time."

"Yes, I hear the student body is enticing." Bill sounded less than enthusiastic about the prospect of winter weather travel to meet a contact under the guise of procuring medication on Sookie's behalf. I really had ordered the drug.

"So long as you make your return flight, with the drug. It was rather expensive."

"Oh. Of course. How did the tests…?"

"We will see tomorrow. No doubt you will receive another _e-mail_." I grunted to signal the end of the conversation.

"Good evening, Eric." I hit end on the phone and opened a new browser window to compose an e-mail to our Princeton counterpart. I then set work aside for the rest of the night. I wanted to look in on Sookie.

I looked down on her sleeping form. She looked at odds with herself – peaceful and troubled. She was beautiful all the same. I studied the arch of her neck, the steady in and out rhythm of her breath. Her hair swam around her shoulders and across her abdomen in a soft tangled mass. I had requested that she leave it to grow. Now it marked the passage of the time that had been given to us. To her.

I reminded myself that my time would go on long after she was gone from this world.

I cursed her again in words too subtle to wake her. This was an argument we would have time and again. The same words would fall out of my mouth before my filter kicked in – the one I found I only employed for her benefit. _Self-preservation_.

I sat on the bed next to her and pulled her gently into my lap. She barely stirred. She looked almost miniature in her over-sized men's cardigan. I had heard her brother refer to it as her 'Mr. Rogers sweater'. It was large and graying-green in color, and must have belonged to her father or grandfather at some point. Though it was attractive the way she paired it with her very feminine skinny jeans and a tight black camisole. I pulled the collar of the sweater away from her enticing neck. My fangs came out completely.

I had thought of a moment like this for the past year. I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of her deliriously enticing blood flowing beneath her skin. If I could just take enough – only a little more than usual. Then I would be the monster I had worked so hard to convince her did not exist. And she would _never_ die again.

_Rmph_. "Eric?" I retracted my fangs and opened my eyes upon the angel in my arms. "What time is it? Oh, did I miss dinner?"

I sat her up and ordered room service, pilling the pillows behind her and the covers on top of her. She was looking through the list of pay per view movies when her meal arrived. "Ok. _Pirates of the Caribean: 2_, _Little Miss Sunshine_, or _Lady In The Water_?"

"Your choice, Lover."

"Stop being so nice to me!" she practically berated me. I could feel that she was frustrated and near the point of a breakdown. Childishly, I shut down as well.

"I put little importance on such human entertainment. Choose what you will. It means nothing to me." I could feel her hurt before I closed my mouth, but I had little time for regret. She picked up her plate of food, disentangled herself from the bed and stomped to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. It was so childlike it would have been comical if it hadn't been maddening as hell.

When she opened the door twenty minutes later, I was sitting in the middle of the bed, sipping a blood. Calm. Patient. She was carrying an empty plate. Her hair was pulled back into a long loose ponytail, and she had removed her ancient cardigan. She sat the plate on the table in the sitting room and came to stand in front of the bed. She couldn't quite bring herself to look at me. Not yet. I knew this dance. She felt ashamed for lashing out, and too proud to admit it. Idiot woman. I held my laughter in but let a bit too much out across the bond.

"You think it's funny!" She squeaked. I saw, even in the dim light of the bedroom, the blush and smile start to spread across her face. I held out my hand to her. She climbed up onto the bed and into my lap. She laid her head against my chest and let out a ragged breath. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm just so exhausted."

"You lost a lot of blood today. You need to feed." I looked down at her, stroking her arms. She tilted her head back to look into my eyes.

"So do you."

I cut my wrist and held it to her lips, feeling the hypnotic draw on my life force as it fed her. I leaned down and gently pressed my lips against her shoulder. My fangs came down and, as she breathed in deeply, my teeth pierced skin.

For a moment I felt pain. Then into the darkness, I heard a voice.

_That pain exists for everyone. The possibilities are endless. Who's to say things will happen exactly the same way twice?_


	8. Wake Up

A/N: So how did we feel about the Eric POV? I'm still trying to get back into his head, so be patient. Warning: The time line is about to get a little wonky in bit. I've really got more to go through to bring this story around to where I'm trying to take it, so prepare for this to be a little longer than **DP** (we're not even into the real meat of the story yet). I am also starting a new job after the holidays, so updates may not hapen as frequently. That said - please enjoy! And don't forget how I love to hear from everyone!

~Yve

***

"_Are you saying the tooth fairy comes _here_? She just breaks into our house like some _hood_?"_

Abel was sitting in the chair next to me, watching an old _Family Guy_ DVD on the extra laptop. My head was pain. I had my right leg pulled up to my chin and my arms wrapped around my knee, cradling a cup of coffee. I was taking up the smallest amount of space I could manage, hoping I would insulate myself from the outside forces acting on the nerve centers already exploding in my head. It wasn't working. I cringed as Abel chuckled at Stewie – quietly, but still not quiet enough.

It had been five days since my weird blackout in Stella's office. I had gone home soon after Stella woke me up that night. I'd tried not sleeping the first couple of nights, but you can only stave of exhaustion for so long. And when sleep finally hit like a wrecking ball, it pulled me down hard. I woke up sweating, my heart racing, and I couldn't remember anything. I decided if I was going to have these weird dreams anyway, I might as well get back to a regular sleep schedule. The next night… nothing.

Then, night before last, the migraine ensued. Austin was begging me to make an appointment with a neurologist, since I'd been sleeping in such a weird way and she was afraid I was exhibiting signs of narcolepsy or maybe epilepsy. So, not only was I trying to stave off the pain, but I was met with the task of keeping Big Sister at bay.

"Hey," Abel laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. I startled anyway. He smiled weakly at me. "Take your hour. You hungry?"

"No." I looked at my watch. Seven forty. "I think I'm gonna head over to the shop next door. Soak my head in some frigid water for a bit, see if that helps." I gathered my bag and crutch, and shuffled out the door and down the sidewalk toward Aura. It was a little Aveda salon where I knew the lead stylist. She would get me worked-in in the evenings when they weren't too busy, and she gave an amazing scalp and neck massage. I held onto a few choice pieces of literature for her before shelving anything. It worked out well. I'd called her this afternoon to see if she had any suggestions for alleviating a killer migraine. We shall see.

I love the way an Aveda store smells. They are a bit fucking proud of their products, but I buy them faithfully. I don't know why. I'm addicted. My hour break passed in bliss. A warm oil scalp massage and then a cool soak, followed by a soft blow-dry and light curl. There is something so relaxing about the tactile sensations associated with someone messing with your hair. I was really starting to feel a bit of relief. Now the pain was back on a scale of one-to-ten, hovering around seven-ish.

I hobbled back in the door of FL almost ready to face the remaining five hours of work. Abel wasn't anywhere handy and the store was currently devoid of tunes, so I tossed my bag into the caddy behind the desk and slumped into my chair, ready to queue up a Pandora station. As the first song came floating on over the speakers, a steaming cup of coffee appeared in front of me. Two splendas, light cream. Abel reclaimed his seat next to me as I smiled at him from behind the lip of my cup.

"You look like a new person."

"Stop _screaming_ at me." I whispered back. I had already turned my attention back to the computer. I was starting to research some training techniques for hyper vigilant, separation sensitive dogs. Poor little guy. It wasn't that we hadn't been busy today, but most of our customers liked FL because we don't bully. We make ourselves available, but at least try not to pester them too much. At the moment there were maybe a dozen or eighteen customers scattered around the stacks, but things were dying down. It was getting harder for Stella to justify staying open as late as she did. She'd like to claim The Fly Leaf kept vampire hours, but it just wasn't worth it. Most of the vampires in the state tended to congregate in the bigger cities – Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and of course Dallas boasted the largest vampire populations in Texas. There were hardly any in our little town. Then again, who would know unless they wanted you to?

Abel kept swiveling back and forth in his chair thumbing through an old copy of _The Undiscovered Self_, but I got the feeling he'd already read it enough to have it memorized cover to cover. He took a moment to check out a cute little cheerleader type, dressed in a very unconvincing goth-wannabe outfit, and shameless in her rather unpolished flirting technique. I let out a strained chuckle as she walked out the front door with a defeated slump to her shoulders. Abel was sometimes so oblivious it was humorous.

I took the opportunity to sneak a peak at him fidgeting beside me. He was definitely someone to notice. He was tall-ish at about six feet, a little pale, with dark green eyes and almost-black-brown hair that was a little shaggy so he was always sweeping it out of his eyes. He was working on a five o'clock shadow, but it didn't do much to hide his age. I thought he looked a little like Nick Stahl. Tonight he was wearing properly worn (nearly worn-out in places), faded jeans, a yellowing t-shirt and an equally worn-out heather grey pullover. I turned back to the computer screen as another customer approached the counter.

"What?" He asked as the woman exited the store after making her purchase.

"Hmm?" I intoned innocently.

"So… is your sister…?" That was an abrupt subject change. Or had he been asking me about Aus and I hadn't registered?

"Yes?"

"She's a, well, she's pretty attached to Stella, huh?"

"They've been friends for years, you know that." I was, of course, avoiding the obvious question. Not my place to confirm or deny what everyone already knew. He took the hint well. He was nothing if not intelligent.

"Hey, she was pretty worried about you the other day."

"She worries." This was not my favorite topic of conversation. "Did you get a lunch? It's your hour."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna grab a sushi roll from across the street and bring it back. You want anything?"

"Whatever you wanna bring back for me. A roll or two sounds good." I shoved a twenty across the counter at him then waved him on as another customer came to make his purchase.

The rest of the evening passed at a crawl. My enthusiasm and the absence of pain after my little massage earlier in the evening faded quickly. I enjoyed my sushi – but who wouldn't? – and the fact that Abel insisted on paying for it, stuffing my money back into my bag. That was the high point of the night. The store was dead before midnight and we had recovery and pre-closing finished by twelve forty-five. Stella was out of town for the rest of the week, so Abel volunteered to take me home instead of me waking up Aus. By two o'clock I was pretty sure we'd watched every popular, cleaver, or disturbing video on youtube, and probably more than a few shitty ones. I was very ready to go home.

We both agreed we needed a late night snack, and What-A-Burger seemed like the easiest solution. We sat in the parking lot in Abel's old Nova eating and chatting easily. The awkwardness of his earlier inquisitiveness seemed to have passed.

"So, I was thinking," he began after gulping down a handful of fries. "There's a sleep study going on in a lab a friend of mine is doing some graduate work for. I figured, you know, after Stella gets back and we can take a couple of days off together…"

"You think that's a good idea? I mean, relevant?" In all honesty, the less time I spent around doctors and lab technicians, the better. They gave me the creepin' willies (yes, I have retained some of my East-Texas dialect from my younger years). "Wait. Did _Bat Girl_ put you up to this?"

"Whoa, ouch!" He held both hands up in defense. "It's not like that. I know she's pressuring you. I just think you might learn a few things – if not what's causing them – about those migraines. They'd even pay you to do it. All you'd need to do is schedule a date, fill out some paperwork, and sleep in the lab a couple of nights. I'm gonna do it for some extra cash, so you wouldn't even have to be up there alone."

He lowered his hands and looked at me questioningly.

"I'll think about it."

I watched as a smile spread across his lips. He even looked a little relieved. "That's all I ask." He wadded up his empty paper bag and wrappers and tossed them in the back seat. Then we were pulling out of the parking lot and down the street toward his great aunt's house and my apartment.

He pulled up the driveway and parked behind the big house. I shoved my hand into my purse and fished around for my keys. When I looked back up I saw Abel staring intently at the steering wheel. Then he looked over to me.

"Need help getting inside?"

"Nope. I got it." I smiled a little too brightly. Suddenly I thought of the blonde woman in the store the night the dreams started. I shook my head more to clear the thought than to tell him I really could manage by myself. On impulse I leaned in and rapped my arms around him in a hug.

He slid his arms around my waist in a _very friendly_ way, returning the gesture.

I suddenly crashed into a misty vision of Abel holding my wrist, reading the strange words tattooed across my left forearm. I had a ragged, old grey and blue striped coverlet wrapped around me, and not much else.

He broke away a little suddenly and I realized I had been holding on a bit tight.

"Thanks for the ride, Kiddo." I opened my door and maneuvered awkwardly out of the vehicle with bag and crutch in hand. "See ya."


	9. The Ice Is Getting Thinner

A/N: Sorry for the long break and short-ish chap. No real excusses. Anyway, it's late, I'm hungry and sick, so i'm gonna leave you with this chapter and dream of what happens next. I listened to _For Emma, Forever Ago_, and _Skinny Love_ by Bon Iver while writing, though they don't much match the mood. Also, _The Ice Is Getting Thinner_ by DCFC. (These songs are not integral to the chapter, though the DCFC title fits well with some themes of the chapter.)

Enjoy

~Y

***

We had spent the day in Bon Temps so that Sookie would be near friends, with Amelia and Sam available to care for her while Bill and I dealt with other business this evening. I would shelter at Fangtasia if the hour grew too late to return, though the plan was to spend another day in rural soil before taking Sookie back to Shreveport with me the following evening.

I was thoroughly less than pleased to be dealing with Victor this week. The trip back from Texas had been tense for both Sookie and I. After one exhausting year of holding the tumors at bay, the fucking cancer had started progressing again.

"But, I feel fine. And those don't look bigger to me." Certainly, to her human eyes and at first glance, they must not look any different from the stagnant masses on the multiple scans she had been seeing for the past year. Yet, as Wilson, Sookie's Oncologist at the Houston hospital, held the new scan up against the one from three months ago, my eyes saw what his were trained to see – and what hers would not. They were growing. Slowly.

"Well, that's good. We want you to continue to feel fine. We just need to be aware that things are changing now. The very nature of this cancer is slow and quiet. It may stop here for another year or three." I looked over to him pointedly, and he returned my glance with a grim smile, almost a grimace. "Or it might not. But at this point, there's no reason to react rashly."

"So, your saying… what, exactly?" She began to tense at my side and I was growing agitated.

"I'm saying we keep doing what we've been doing. Aggressive treatment may take more away from you than you're able to give. Whatever has been keeping you fighting this long is nothing to mess with. We scan again in four weeks and again a month after that. Then we go from there." He watched Sookie as her face tilted toward the floor. "I think my best advice is to stay positive, and happy. Maintain the status quo. Don't go making your 'bucket list' or jumping out of any airplanes just yet." He laughed trying to lighten the atmosphere that had settled over the room.

"Oh, you have no idea how not-adrenaline-junkie I am. I've had enough adventure for several lifetimes, thank-you-very-much!"

We were discharged with instructions to maintain life as usual and return to the Shreveport office in four weeks. Sookie was so upset I made the executive decision to cancel my appointment with Walker. My bonded needed to be home, where she felt she had a little more control over what was happening to her – whether it was true or not.

It had been almost a week since we had been back in Louisiana, and Bill and I had plans to meet with Walker at the bar this evening. Pam had called as soon as the sun was down to inform me that Victor's day man had sent word ahead, and Victor would be making an impromptu audit of the Area this evening. To say it was inconvenient would have been a huge understatement. Now I was expected to explain the Texas vampire's appearance and entertain Victor until he saw fit to move on to the next Area audit. Bill had better be prepared to pull his weight tonight.

It was still stubbornly cold for this time of year and there was even sticky, barely frozen condensation that the locals called snow, though it melted as soon as it hit the ground – nothing like the snow of my younger years. I glanced over my shoulder at Sookie curled into our blankets, reading, as I stepped out of the shower to dress. I pulled on jeans, muscle shirt, and a deep cranberry red, zippered pullover. Barefoot and employing my vampire stealth, I stalked my prey, climbing up onto the bed behind her. I could feel her happiness through the bond as I closed my arms around her and it lightened my heart an infinitesimal amount.

"Whatcha readin'?" I used my best yokel voice. She laughed audibly and shoved back into my chest with her shoulder. Slowly she closed the book, leaving a finger to mark her place, and turned the cover toward my eyes.

"_The History Of Love_." She turned to face me and stuck her tongue out.

"And what is love's history, Dear One?"

"Sad." She turned her beautiful full lips downward in a frown. "It's about the holocaust, and a girl who wants to know why she's named after a girl in a book, and a man who writes a book but never publishes it and he never finds his Anna. It's sad." I look at her, half grinning at the nonsense she has just babbled out, and finally she laughs at herself. "I guess you have to read it."

"No, my lover. It is much more simple than that. Love has been around since the Day met the Night. When the Moon fell in love with the Sun."

"Hey, that sounds made up," she teased.

"No. I swear it to you. I didn't witness it myself, but the Ancient Pythoness…" I smiled. I couldn't help indulging her in anything that might lighten her mood. She shoved me again.

"Go to work."

I leaned over her and lightly touched my lips to her forehead. "I will be back as soon as I can extricate myself from this pointless audit." It was a promise.

"Sure. Have fun." She had some slight idea of the contempt I harbored for Victor, and the way that he was pulling the strings and calling the shots to demonstrate his authority galled me. I rolled my eyes, dropped my fangs and grazed her collarbone, leaving a tiny trail of red resting against her too pale skin. She drew in a quick breath and I could feel her anticipation through the bond. I had simply meant to plant an idea in her head for later, but I was feeling her desire for me to bite and finding it hard to resist. Then I felt blood spatter across my cheek.

And I heard her rattling cough.

An hour later I stood tensely, looking out onto the hospital parking lot from a window in the first floor ER waiting room in Monroe. I held her book in one hand and had her coat draped over my arm.

"Mr. Northman?"

_Fucking finally._ "Yes?" I turned to face the young woman, trying to maintain the proper look of concern and approachability, despite my apparent irritability. I was probably clenching my fist a little too tightly under Sookie's coat.

"I'm Dr. Dearson. First let me apologize for how long it took me to get out here to you." She was very confident and to the point. "The nurses neglected to inform me you were in the waiting area until I asked who we were releasing Miss Stackhouse to." That sounded about as likely as any other blunder to be made in a small town ER. I suppose we were lucky they had seen her so quickly. "So, Sookie thinks you were making too much of her coughing episode this evening?"

I nodded. I knew Sookie was sleeping and not in any immediate danger, but I was on edge and not in the mood for a conversation.

"Well, you did the right thing. We've diagnosed her with walking pneumonia. She was a little dehydrated when she was admitted, and running a slight fever. She was congested in her chest and sinuses, and complaining of a headache and slight dizziness. It's nothing very serious normally, though it can escalate, and due to her status as stage four," a growl escaped my lips. "We wanna stay on top of this. I've given her some hydrocodone cough syrup and some antibiotics tonight, and I'll be sending you home with some doxycyline. She's to finish it _all_ and see your oncologist in about four days, just for a follow-up. We don't want to see any clots or obstructions forming in her lungs." She smiled brightly up at me as she finished her polished aftercare speech. She was very young and seemed to have little experience dealing with vampires. After a few more seconds of searching my face for an expression of approval, she motioned down the corridor. "She's still asleep, but if you'll follow me, we'll get you set up with a chair next to her and start getting her meds together for you."

I text messaged Bill from my new station in Sookie's ER bay.

_Make my apologies to Walker. I will pay to extend her stay if need be. Sookie is sleeping. Home tonight with meds. Inform Pam. E_

Seconds later my phone buzzed.

_And Victor?_

……….

_Fuck him.  
_


	10. Fever Dream

A/N: Happy 2010 Everyone! Hope everyone is having an excellent time celebrating, and, as always, be very safe. NEVER drink and drive. You have no idea what it's like to lose that game.

Ok. Off my Soap Box! So this POV is Ty and another old Friend from Bon Temps. It's a little short (or rather, i wanted to fill it with more, but you're getting the info at the same rate our characters are getting it), but I wanted to get my first entry of '10 out there! Enjoy the chapter, listen to _Love Vigilantes_ (I prefer Iron and Wine, but New Order is the band in the story), and have a great New Year.

***

It is the middle of February. It's been six weeks and I'm now allowed to release my leg from the bonds of its dreaded air cast. I've been walking without crutches for the last ten days and I'm pretty steady on my feet now. The weather is turning warmer but it's still a stubborn muggy kind of cool – not warm enough for short sleeves, but too uncomfortable for sweaters. Gotta love Texas weather. So when I go up to the big house – Stella's house – to use the gym equipment for my rehab, I know I'll be coming back a sticky, sweaty, shivering mess. I grab the mail out of our box on the way back up the drive and toss it on the bathroom counter once I reach the second floor. Aus is out – not entirely sure where, but I have an idea since it's already after dark. I turn on the water and begin steaming up my bathroom as the tub fills.

Ah. Soak in lavender oil and Epsom salts. I leaned back against sloped wall of the tub and started humming the tune to New Order's _Love Vigilantes_. It had been stuck in my head since this morning. I'd caught a ride to work with Abel and it was in his iPod Shuffle. The steam was so soothing I was breathing in deep and letting my eyes slip closed. I hadn't had it much easier sleeping in the past few weeks. I usually had a sense of anxiety before closing my eyes as if there was some way the things I was dreaming of (and still couldn't remember) were going to cause some sort of imperceptible damage to my subconscious. For some reason, tonight, I didn't care. I was wiped. So I let the song drift with me into unconsciousness.

***

"Oh, I've just come from the land of the sun…" I chuckled to myself as I let the screen on the back door slam behind me. I hadn't listened to New Order in years and today the one line I had caught from the radio before pulling my keys out of the ignition seemed to fit the moment. It was starting to warm up a little and the sun was bright and absolutely flooding the little yard by the cemetery. The red Corvette sat in the driveway getting bird crap spattered all over it from the ancient pine tree it sat under. No doubt lover boy would be thrilled about that. He'd probably insist on having a service come out to remove it.

I shook my head as I riffled through the mail. Bill, bill, ooh, Victoria's Secret catalogue – score. Reminder postcard for Ms. Stackhouse at MD Anderson, and another bill. Sookie still carried her weight of the household expenses, though she was hardly ever in residence, but I'd always had a knack for wracking up a major tally on the MasterCard and I held the evil statement in my hands now. It was a good thing for me to be working at Merlotte's now that Sookie had quit. I enjoyed the company and it kept me away from the mall in Monroe – and it kept my mind off of other things.

Poor Trey. I could feel the tears brimming and I was too tired to suppress them running down my cheek. _Amelia Broadway, snap out of it!_ There was nothing I could do about it, anyway. What's past is past. I sniffled one final time before setting the kettle on the stove and going in search of my prodigal roomie.

"Hey, Sook! I'm home. Thought you might wanna have cup of tea with me while you lend moral support. My credit card bill just came in the mail." I headed down the darkened hallway and knocked gently on her bedroom door. If his car was here, surely she was here too. They'd gotten in late last night and I was awake enough to get up and shut my door before I fell back to sleep. I liked giving them their privacy, even though I was pretty sure there wasn't much happening in the love department. An overprotective vamp and a sick human don't make for the hottest love scenes. I waited outside her door a few seconds before knocking again. I was pretty sure she'd left her car in Shreveport so she'd have to take Eric's if she wanted to go anywhere, and it was safely covered with bird crap in the driveway. "Sook? Sookie, I'm starting to get worried. I'm coming in in ten seconds, Sook." No response. _One, two, threefourfive – oh Fuck it – ten_.

The door stuck a little as I turned the knob and pushed. My heart stopped for a second then the door gave way. But not much. Sookie was folded up in a heap on the floor in front of it. She had her phone in hand and blood on her hands and lips. Holy Goddess!

"Sookie!" I fell to the floor, banging my knees hard on the way down. I grabbed her wrist, frantically trying to remember how to take a pulse, and snatched her cellular out of her hand as I pulled her into my lap. She was breathing, but just barely. My fingers had a hard time dialing.

9. 1. 1. Send.

"911. What is your emergency?"

***

I sat bolt upright in the tub, banging my injured leg against the porcelain in the process. The water was cold and I couldn't smell the lavender anymore. Corgan was curled up on the bath mat, growling softly. And my head was murder.

My heart was racing, I was sweating, dizzy and a little nauseous this time – but I remembered. I remembered everything I had seen. Seen through this girl's eyes. _Amelia_.

Fuck, I was shivering again. I reached up and turned on the hot water and the showerhead, pulling the drain with my toe. The hot water washed over me and spilled out onto the tile and bath mat and the little boy. He got up and shook as he walked away. It had to have been just a nightmare, stress, the subconscious mind trying to puzzle out some problem while the body slept. The issue was, it was way too linier to be a dream. Everything was very clear and very real and would have made absolute sense, if only I had known anything about who those people were, where they were, and why the hell they were invading my brain.

I stepped out of the shower, turned the water off and managed to wrap a towel around me before I realized that sickening, pit of your stomach, mouthwatering, you're-about-to-vomit-feeling was coming on. Thankfully it's a pretty small bathroom and only a quarter turn from where I was to the toilet. I slumped down on my knees and leaned my head against the cool tiled wall beside me as I gasped for breath and wondered if Aus had replenished out supply of mouthwash.

I vaguely remember hearing the door open and vividly remember Aus and her onslaught of questions. For the moment the dream was forgotten as I had to explain to my sister four or five times that I knew I wasn't pregnant, "You have to have sex to get pregnant and it's been a while for me, how 'bout you Aussie?" That shut her up.

She helped me into a t-shirt and my old robe and we ventured down the stairs to look for some saltines and ginger ale or some sufficient substitute. I curled up into the couch cushions with a tube of crackers and a bottle of purple powerade. She turned on the TV to some Family Guy marathon and sat down next to me, unpinned my hair and started combing through it with her fingers.

"Feeling any better?" she asked after about fifteen minutes.

"Yeah. Just the headache still."

"Ty. I want you to do this sleep study thing. Abel was talking about it a little when I was over there tonight."

"Hey, don't play 'mom', ok?" The words were out of my mouth before I realized how she would take them. I said a bad word – mom. I could feel her stiffen up on the cushion next to me and I fumbled to soften the blow. "Besides, I can't do anything until Stella's back on her regular schedule. She's been gone so much. When she gets back for a few weeks in a row I'll make the appointment. I promise. What's up with her, anyway?"

"Oh, just some _guy_." She made a face as she said it. "He never comes here. She said it's vamp politics, but he's not even in our area. 'Will Turner', like from the Pirate's movies!" She chuckled kind of wildly at that and then became really quiet. I watched her staring at the TV screen without really seeing it.

I reached my arm around her and leaned my head on her shoulder.

"I've been here for so long, Ty." She turned and looked at me, and for a moment I saw her blank, vacant face, so hard to distinguish from her signature expression. This one held the real sadness. Then she sparked, and her eyes changed, a smile spread across her face and I thought there was nothing in the world she couldn't conquer. It was that face I had looked forward to after our parents had died. That smile had gotten me through. I wondered if it worked the same way for her. "We both have... been here so long."

"I know, Sweetie." I know she wasn't talking about me. And I know she wasn't talking about Englewood. She was talking about Stella, without saying anything at all.


	11. At Halcyon

A/N: Ok. I keep posting short chapters but I'm still finding my rhythm for this one. Those of you who have read DP will be pleased to hear from one of it's original characters. A little bit of perspective. Well, without further ado, I leave you with Miss Devonee Blair.

***

It was getting well past midnight from the look of the drag. I took my shoes off and shoved them into my bag, reveling in the feel of the warm pavement on my feet. There were a few fellow vagrants out tonight, and the occasional student, either out studying or getting wasted. I hunched down by a closed storefront to riffle through my bag and tally my cash. I didn't think I had enough for Kirby Lane, but I could grab a large smoothie from Metro. I could probably grab a couple minutes sleep upstairs too. The students wouldn't complain, and the staff hardly every ventured up there except before a shift change to collect the dishes. Another block and a half. Only I was starting to get pretty dizzy.

I pushed the heavy door open and was rewarded with a warm smile.

"Meredith!" I practically skipped up to the coffee bar and leaned across the table to wrap my arms around her neck.

"Devon!"

As I stood back another wave of nausea hit me.

"Hey, your stuff's on me tonight. I'm about to get off in a little while. Let's sit in the loft and catch up, okay? What'll ya have?"

"Oh, awesome." I managed a smile. "Um, berry soy smoothie. I'll be back, I've gotta hit the ladies room." She gave me a weird look as I bolted to the back of the room and through the bathroom door. I didn't even lock the door before kneeling in front of the toilet. I emerged five minutes later, worse for wear. I was sweating and exhausted. Suddenly all my energy had dissipated into thin air. Meredith was still working on my order.

"Head up there and I'll bring it to you, Sweetie." She nodded toward the stairs, and I turned to trudge up to the loft. I sunk into the first sofa off the landing and curled into a tight ball. A few minutes later she sat the smoothie and a plate down in front of me. The plate held a stack of five large, soft and chewy shortbread cookies. My mouth started to water.

"Are those for me?" I grinned up from my little cocoon on the sofa. She motioned that I should try a bite and I was halfway to the bottom of the plate and a third through the smoothie before I stopped for breath. I hadn't thought it was possible to be so hungry after just throwing up violently. And I said so to Meredith.

"Well, how late are you?"

"What do you mean?" I was picking at the crumbs on the cracked surface of the old plate when I finally caught the meaning of what she had said. "Not very. If at all. Well, I hadn't really noticed. It's been three months since I slept with anybody. Shit."

"I've got a test in my locker. I was few days late last month, and you know me, I'm never late. Anyway, I bought a two pack. I'll grab it in a sec. Don't be so worried. You've been stressed. You haven't got a decent place to sleep for Christ sake. No wonder you're late." She turned to look down at the main floor as the door chimed and another late night customer arrived. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Just cozy up and relax a bit, okay. Finish your smoothie."

My thoughts took a diversion as I watched Meredith walk down the steps to the counter. She was one of the few girls I'd gotten along with in High School, and even then we'd not spent much time together. She had kept pace with the other students while I'd pushed ahead to graduate early. Still, she was always ready with a smile whenever we ran into each other. It had been so long since I'd been to Metro I'd forgotten she was working there.

What I should have been thinking about were the possible repercussions of the damages I was about to reap upon my life and future. Not that there was much of a life to damage at the moment, but in all fairness, I really had no right to bring a kid into it. I'd hate to do it, and avoid it at all costs, but I knew in the back of my mind, Grandpa Sam was a last resort. It made me nauseous to think of telling Sam.

Meredith swept up the stairs behind a young handsome student who was carrying a plate of brownies and a latte to a table in the corner. She scooped up my empty dishes and deposited a small square plastic disc on top of my bag. "Can I get you anything else?" She smiled sweetly. I shook my head.

"Oh, Mere? What about you?" I nodded toward her abdomen.

She shook her head and winked at me. "No worries, kiddo. Talk to you in a few." And she whisked back down the stairs.

***

I managed to sneak out of metro while Mere was cleaning her station and counting down her till. I wasn't ready to deal with this discussion at the moment. I used the money she had saved me on food to get a cab into downtown and close to Halcyon. I'd walk the rest of the way – maybe I'd get lucky and "collect" some spare change on the way.

As I continued walking down sixth street, avoiding stumbling drunks and stoners high on God knows what, I started getting dizzier and more tired by the minute. Meredith's older brother, Daniel, worked at Halcyon and he sometimes let me stay the night after closing as long as his boss didn't find out. I was counting on that now.

The front of the building was already dark with the porch lights turned out for the night. The garage type doors along both sides of the corner building had been pulled down and locked tight for the night. It was getting close to four AM. Dan would be doing the final counts for the night and about to lock up and head out the back door. I could see someone standing behind the register through the big floor to ceiling windows on the front porch. I tapped lightly on the glass. The figure looked up and started maneuvering around from behind the counter, headed to the front door. It wasn't Dan.

"Fuck." I muttered under my breath before plastering on a bright smile. The door opened and Keaton leaned his head out.

"You know the hours." He began to duck back in but I slipped my hand around the inside of the doorframe before he could close it.

"Oh, I was supposed to start work tonight. Dan said to be here after closing. It's all gonna be spotless when you guys come open at lunch time." I smiled up at him innocently. And I'd sure as hell clean the place if it gave me an excuse to get a few hours of sleep off of the streets. No lie there.

"The place is already spotless and Daniel doesn't have the authority to be hiring cleaning ladies. Especially tramps off the street."

"Hey, Keaton!" He turned back to face me. "Those books you're working over, they won't stand up to audit and you know that. You've got a long way to go to pull this place back up from the brink and in less than two years time, Halcyon will go under and you'll be the tramp on the street. Asshole." Oh fuck. I'd given him a little too much free information. I try to hold back a little but when I go off freely like that I tend to sound like a freak or a prophet (which people see as pretty much the same thing). I'm not sleeping at Halcyon tonight, that's for sure.

"White-trash-fucking-freak-whore!" He screamed. Halfway through his expletives I reached for a bear bottle sitting on the porch and aimed for his head. He slammed the door shut and locked it as I smashed the bottle into the unforgiving wood. The glass splintered and slivers sped deep into my hand.

"Fuck!" I shouted long and loud and it didn't seem to offend anyone passing at this time of night. "Fucking Christ! Goddamnit! Asshole! How can anyone be so completely fucking devoid of emotion, you cunt?! Fuckstick!"

As I was yelling I felt, more than heard, the man walking up behind me. I swipped my uninjured hand across my eyes to wipe the tears away and took a deep breath. Shuddering, I began pulling glass out of my hand.

"Ahem."

It was the most eloquent clearing of the throat I'd ever heard. It sounded almost practiced and then I realized why. I smelled the faint hint of the dead as he stood behind me. He was very old and, "Vampire." I said into the dark.


	12. The Sun Is Out

A/N: Please listen to the song _Thirty-three_ by The Smashing Pumpkins while Eric is speaking to Sookie toward the end of the chapter. I have somewhat obscure reasons for this (other than the fact that I was listening to the amazing song while writing this chapter), and I'll explain to anyone who wants to know more. Otherwise, we take another step toward the inevitable.

Enjoy

***

The light creeping through the cracked blinds was the painfully bright light of early morning. I was usually asleep by this time or just about ready to collapse into bed, and I wasn't used to seeing it in all its splendid morning glory. I squinted and blinked, taking in my surroundings. It wasn't my bedroom - I had hung heavy drapes pretty quickly after developing a habit of keeping vampire type hours. Gran would be so disappointed. Proper young women went to bed at a decent hour and _never_ slept past breakfast. I wasn't at Eric's since he had no windows in his room – it was light tight. I opened up my senses a little more to the minds around me.

"_So, I'll go get us some coffee and then I can drop you off at work. No sense you sitting here when you can't do anything. Someone else can watch after her."_

_Naw. He don't leave her side when he's awake. I sure's hell ain't gonna. "Catfish understands, Amelia. Sides, what kinda brother you think I am?" _

"_A real loving one, Jason." Even if you are clueless most of the time. Good lord, you have your priorities fucked up. Spend a little more time with your sister while it matters, not when it's too late. Goddess, I hope it's not too late. Still, he is worried sick. Maybe I should give him a break. "Take yours black? Ok, then. I'll be right back." _

_Damn that girl's got a nice ass. Just a few minutes restin' my eyes won't hurt nothin'. Then I'll have some coffee and call Catfish._

That line of thought ended abruptly and it was only a few moments before I picked up on Amelia again. She was talking to someone but I couldn't 'hear' them. Must be on her cell phone.

"_Don't worry if you can't get a sitter. We'll have loads of fun out in the waiting room. No. I'll call you if anything changes, otherwise I'll see you tonight. Bye, Tara." Already snoring away. Guess it's just as well he didn't go in to work. Hope he doesn't drool on my bag._

By this time I'd figured out exactly where I was. It gave me that sick little sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was in the hospital in Shreveport. Not ICU. I had my own room this time. I heard the soft beeping of the monitors as the heavy door slid across the linoleum and Amelia tip toed in. She sat her coffee down on the bedside tray before she realized I was staring at her.

"Holy crap. You're awake!" She half squealed half whispered. "Oh, I'm so happy you're awake! You have no idea how bad you scared me! Are you, ok? You need some water? A nurse?" She was reaching for the call button beside the bed and I shook my head, probably a little too zealously (word of the day) cause I was suddenly very dizzy. I squinted my eyes together tight as my insta-vertigo settled.

"How long?" I croaked. I was startled by the sound of my voice. It was weak and rattley. Amelia didn't like it either, and she was thinking that Eric would like it even less. "Oh, he'll get over it."

She huffed momentarily at the slight on my part. I wasn't really focused on blocking anyone out, though and she understood that. "You've been out just over two nights. They said you were stable about five hours after we got you here, just no telling when you'd wake up. Well you're up now, and that's good. You should drink something. They also said your throat should be sore for a while. Little sips." Amelia handed me a small styrofoam cup of water she had produced out of nowhere. I obeyed by taking small sips as she came around the side of the bed and helped me sit up a little straighter.

Amelia filled me in on who'd come and gone, who sent flowers and warm wishes, who was covering her shift at the bar, and how stressed Sam had been about not being able to be here 100% of the time - and how that had pissed off Eric. She said he and Bill had gotten into it over something in the hospital lobby last night, and I wrote it off to old enmity and territorial disputes (me being the territory in question). But she said it sounded more as if it had to do with work.

Pam had spent a few hours here last night, reading Dear Abby out loud, and apparently insisting on painting my nails – fingers _and_ toes included. I had a bright shade of plum adorning my hands and feet. I laughed at the thought of Pam playing manicurist to a comatose human. I suddenly didn't want to think about that anymore.

Just then a nurse came in to check my vitals and greeted us both with a very chipper, "Well, good morning, ladies!" and Amelia used this as an opportunity to go wake Jason. He was goofy and ecstatic to see me awake. We talked a little while he gulped down his coffee and he promised he'd be there at a moments notice from now on. "Just a phone call away, Sook," he said. Then he kissed me on the forehead and announced that he was headed home to get some shuteye. Typical Jason.

For having slept for two days straight I surely was worn out. I drifted off for several hours until they brought me some soup and jello to eat for lunch. Amelia had grabbed a sandwich while I was sleeping. She sat next to me in the bed while I ate and we watched Days of Our Lives. Not that I keep up with the daytime soaps, but there really wasn't anything else on. I fell asleep for another couple of hours and woke up to the sound of Tara soothing her fussy little daughter. Rebecca was usually a quiet little girl. I guess she didn't like hospitals. Who could blame her?

"Hey, Tara."

"I'm sorry we woke you. I just wanted to talk to Amelia before we got out of here. You need your sleep, Girl. We'll come back tomorrow."

"Oh, you can come back tomorrow. That absolutely does not mean you're leaving right away tonight." I motioned for her to sit back down, then thought better of it. "Hand the baby over this way. I want to say high to my Becca. Come see Aunt Sookie." I held my hands out for her. Tara sat the little girl down in my lap and I wrapped her up in a hug as she mimicked my movements with her own chubby arms. "There's no denying her parentage. She's got her daddy's eyes and smile." I cooed. I never coo.

"Yeah, let's hope she gets Mama's brains, though." Tara chuckled as it was no secret her husband was handsome, but not much of a scholar. JB was even a little lacking in street smarts. But Tara made up for it and loved taking care of her daughter and husband.

I played with Rebecca for a little bit, while her mother looked at us with that old expression of pity. The one that said, _Poor Sookie's never going to have this for herself. Even if she wasn't going to die, her boyfriend can't pull off the job on a count he's dead_. I didn't have to be telepathic to read it in the look on her face. I gave Rebecca a kiss on the cheek and handed her off to Amelia. Tara hugged my neck and made her excuses. It was getting close to dinner and she couldn't trust JB at home with the stove.

It was almost six and the sun was setting fast. I knew there were reasons visitors were going to make themselves scarce after dark. I could only imagine what a volatile state Eric had been in and how that had affected the staff and family present at the hospital over the past two nights. Truth be told, I didn't want to think about it, and neither did anyone else. Tara left and Amelia said she would stay till Eric showed up. She needed to get home and take a shower and get some clean clothes. Really I knew she had been walking on eggshells since she found me in my bedroom. She was afraid Eric would hold her responsible for whatever it was that had happened to me that morning.

We decided to channel surf in the meantime and settled on a rerun of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They were demolishing the house when Eric walked through the doorway. Amelia gave me a quick peck on the cheek and grabbed her bag as she sidestepped around Eric and out the door. "I'll see you in the morning, Sook."

"Hi, Gorgeous. I bet I look like death warmed over." I smiled up at him as I hit mute on the TV remote. Everyone had been tiptoeing around the Viking Vamp's temper and I refused to do the same. Why should I, or anyone, feel guilty for something we had no control over? It's not like Amelia or anybody else meant for me to collapse or whatever it was that had happened.

"You do not look well." He said it in a very small voice. It was disturbing, but I shook off the feeling before it had a chance to settle. He was sitting on the edge of the bed in the space of seconds. "Did they tell you what happened?"

They hadn't, not that I'd asked. I started to wonder if maybe things were more serious than I'd been thinking all day. "No." My voice was very small then, like his. "Tell me." He nudged my side and I scooted over on the bed so that he could lie down next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled his nose into my neck, breathing deeply. "Tell me." I repeated.

"After my meeting with Walker, you wanted to go home. You weren't feeling well and shouldn't have been away from bed yet – I don't care what you say, you were still sick. I wanted someone with you in the morning so we went back to your home instead of ours-"

"Yes, I remember all of that. What happened in the morning? I remember showering and dressing. And then I blacked out."

"Amelia found you collapsed and unconscious on your bedroom floor. You were blocking the door. You had blood on your mouth and your phone in hand. She thought you were trying to call for help." I didn't remember ever reaching for my phone or making it further then my bathroom door. I shook my head slightly, trying to knock some sense into my memories, but nothing changed. "I arrived here after you had been admitted and stabilized, immediately after dark. The doctors told me you had suffered from a blood clot in your lungs. They were able to remove the clot with a minimally invasive procedure, but it had caused fluid build up in your lungs and a severe lack of oxygen to your brain for an unknown period of time. They did not know if you would be… permanently damaged."

He had spoken all of this into the crook of my neck. I turned on my side to face him and pulled him closer to me. We were quiet there for several moments. I simply didn't know what to say. I was scared. And I was calmer than I ever thought I could possibly be. All the times I had faced death in my life, I knew there was something holding me here. It was a life. The life I knew I had led gave me strength to continue on. It was something to fight for. For the past year, though, that life was disintegrating around me. My friends and family were moving on with theirs, while mine was stagnating. I had nothing to look forward to now, and it was scary as hell, having a definite end in sight.

I sunk deeper into Eric's hold and he rumbled deeply in his chest. I let the love and warmth momentarily carry me away from my deeper, darker thoughts. "I want to feel like this forever." It wasn't a request. And it was barely audible, but the vampire in my arms heard me. And he responded.

"I can make it last. Forever."


	13. Disillusioned

Frail and tired as she might have seemed, I had awoken a tiger within her. I could feel the anger swelling through the bond until it became a very present and oppressive force. Sookie remained collected outwardly, though her emotions were enough to force me to stand out of a defensive reflex. I had let my guard down and I now stood back from her hospital bed, fangs down and nostrils flaring.

"You put those away. And shut your mouth. That issue is not up for debate." She said it quietly and with a ferocity I hadn't seen from her in months, years even. If she was going to let her emotions run rampant like they were, and she _refused_ to let me influence her feeling, I had to throw up defenses of my own. I closed myself of as much as I could and felt the wave of rage begin to ebb. No doubt, she was still writhing with it.

"I don't know what you mean, Sookie. We were debating nothing. No issue to speak of." I sat back in the small recliner in the corner of the room, and began thumbing through e-mails on my PDA. "Have you spoken to the physician?"

"No." Like a child with her pouting, answering in the shortest way possible.

"They are adding a blood thinner to your daily medications, along with beginning the new drug Bill has brought down from Princeton. Tomorrow night we return to Shreveport." I looked up from my phone. She was sitting still and quiet looking out the window. "You must find something to occupy your hours away from me. It is not safe for you to be alone. And your friends have other obligations, jobs, children. Shall I hire a nurse?" It hit her like a punch in the stomach.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Eric." I raised a skeptical brow. Just as she had disproved to me time and again. But I would not push the issue tonight.

"I have some business I must attend this evening. I am relieved you are awake, of course." I found myself being cold and cordial. Much more than I intended.

"Of course." She quipped back at me.

"Victor must not be pushed aside, Lover." Though cryptic, my statement was true. She would take it as she must. I stood to kiss her though she turned her head away. I placed a gentle kiss on her cool cheek instead. "I believe you have visitors." I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I had been expecting the simple vampire, as he was coming per my request. Sam, though an annoyance, was a welcome addition to Sookie's impromptu guard. If any two men other than Compton and myself would protect this woman, Bubba and the shifter were my optimal choice.

"Miss Sookie!" Bubba burst through the doorway wearing a dark private eye style overcoat and hat. No doubt whomever had housed him had sent him in the ridiculous outfit as an attempt to keep him inconspicuous. I shook my head as the vampire stood before me, anything _but_ incon-fucking-spicuous. "Mr. Eric, I'm on time, ain't I?"

"So you are, Bubba." I had to smile at his work ethic.

"Hi, Bubba." Sookie blessed him with a warm, soft and very genuine smile – like greeting a child.

"Knock, knock." The shifter poked his head around the door. He had flowers with him. And a greasy bag of garlicy food.

"Sam!" Here her smile was not only genuine, but also happy as she motioned for Sam to venture further into the tiny room. It was getting a bit too crowded for comfort in my opinion and I would have been just as pleased if the dog had stayed outside.

I nodded to Sam, and leaned in to Sookie once more. "Lover, I must go." This time she allowed for a soft kiss on the lips. Her mood was improving enough that I had begun to lower my defenses in the bond, and I could tell she was truly disappointed for me to leave. So fickle were her emotions.

"Will you be back tonight?"

"With any luck. Though do not distress if it is very late before I return. I will call." I took my leave of the melange of supernaturals in the little room and walked down the hall toward the elevators.

I walked away slowly allowing my heightened auditory sense to catch a glimpse of Sookie's evening to come.

"Terry sent you some sausage and seafood gumbo. Say's it's a cure all or somethin'. The girls send their best."

"Oh and tulips!"

"Well, those are from me. See you got a bunch more, prettier flowers all over."

"They're beautiful, Sam. Thank you. I'll put 'em right by the bed. Sit down. What brings you two handsome men out here to see me tonight?"

I cringed. I had not meant for Sookie to learn of my intentions for Bubba this evening. I had done well not to inform him of more than was entirely necessary.

"Well I _had_ to come up and see you for myself, Sook. Sorry I didn't get here sooner, but Holly was sick and Amelia wouldn't leave you till Eric woke up. She said he'd never forgive her if she did. I ended up taking her last two lunch shifts myself. I think I make a lousy waitress."

So I had inspired loyalty in one of Sookie's human companions. It was due to little more than fear, but she was still loyal. She had told me she would not leave Sookie's side as long as I slept and indeed she hadn't. I filed that away for future reference.

"Bubba? What brings you here?" Sookie sounded skeptical and gentle at the same time, though she knew his answer would reference me in some way, shape, or form.

"Oh, I'm just so glad you're _OK_, Miss Sookie. I'd sure have been sad to never see you again." Oaf. "That's why I said of course, yes sir, when Mr. Northman asks me to come look after you tonight."

"Well, that's great Bubba, but what makes Mr. Northman think I need looking after in a hospital?"

"Oh, he don't tell me nothin', Miss Sookie. But between you and me," here he began to whisper, "he sure is sweet on you." I shook my head as the elevator doors opened and I boarded the car for the short ride down to the lobby.

Bill was waiting for me in the parking lot, where I had left him. We were to take his more inconspicuous vehicle to pick up the lovely Stella Walker, Bill's 'date' for the evening, before continuing on to dinner with Victor and Sandy. I climbed in the passenger's seat and directed him to The Remington on Travis Street.

We rode to the hotel in silence, for the most part. As Bill was turning under the hotel awning, he began to speak.

"What you are going through, with Sookie…"

"You should not lie to yourself, Bill. You would not wish to be in my place, between the disease and her stubbornness."

"I'm disillusioned. I would not posses the strength for it. I only hope that you do." He left the keys in the ignition as he stepped out of the vehicle onto the pavement.

I followed him to the sliding, light proof, glass doors at the front of the building. Just inside stood Stella Walker. Young for a vampire, she was turned in the late fifties. She was incredibly mutable, ever changing with her surroundings. She wore a short, lacey tube dress with bits of cream silk showing through the lace, and she had a long, slim cut black blazer draped over her arm. Her short blonde hair was styled in the marcel wave from the era of her youth.

"Vintage tonight, Stella?"

"Always a pleasure, Eric," she answered as she offered me a cheek to kiss. I obliged and then stepped aside in order for Bill to greet his 'partner in crime'.

"Mr. Turner." I couldn't mistake the brightening of her expression as she held out her arm to Bill.

"I will be going by Compton this evening, Stella. So far as we deal with Sandy and victor, or any other vampire native to this area. Or familiar with my database for that matter. Perhaps we should put aside pseudonyms all together."

"Yes, I question why you chose such a ridiculous name in the first place, Compton."

Bill and I quipped back and forth as we rode back to Fangtasia. Though I was thoroughly content with my match in Sookie, I turned down no opportunity to show a woman just how unmatched Bill was for her. Yet as we arrived at the bar, I set aside childish things. It was all business from here on out. Bill parked that car and helped Stella out of her seat, and the three of us approached from the front entrance. I wanted Victor to be certain I was taking time away from my bonded, who was ill, to accommodate his requests.

"Master, Compton, _Stella_." Pam leaned in to kiss Stella on either cheek. "Victor and Sandy wait at your table."

"Please, go ahead. I will follow shortly." I motioned for them to enter in front of me. Bill snorted his disdain – he was not comfortable with my slights toward Victor's ego – though he continued on into the bar. "Wait here fifteen minutes, then call Indira to watch the door. You may go and be with Sookie. She is awake. On your way there you must call on out contact in Arkansas. I only hope that Victor goes with Sandy to set things straight. It will keep me away from Sookie longer than I would like if things don't go my way."

"Not to mention, getting your pretty outfit bloody." Pam smirked as I grinned at the prospect. Though I was fond of the new coat. Sookie had picked it out as a St. Valentines gift. "Did she say anything about her nails?"

"What?" Pam snorted at me.

"Men truly are unobservant about the finer details. Have a pleasant evening. Master." She smiled and waved me on to my table. We shall see just how pleasant the evening proves to be.


	14. One Step Ahead

A/N: I'm having fun writing. Hopefully you are all enjoying the ride. During the first part of the chapter, as it takes place in Fangtasia, please listen to _Hysteria_ by Muse, _I get It_ by Chevelle, and _Passive_ by A Perfect Circle. In the second part, while Sookie is still in the hospital, please listen to _Fantasy Man_ by The Swell Season. Eric/Sookie POV

Enjoy!

***

I quickly caught up with Bill and Stella on their way to the table, as Bill, deciding to take my lead, had stopped to great several other vampires, obviously inferior to Victor. I was pleased. There were some things Bill was excelling at, manipulation chief among them.

We arrived at the corner booth in relatively the same time. Sandy and Victor were already partaking of a bottled vintage I had set-aside especially for them. Indira had followed instructions and poured the Red Stuff into our finest merlot glasses. She appeared in seconds with bottles of True Blood for Bill and myself, and to take Stella's order.

Sandy stood as I walked over to place a kiss on her unadorned cheek. Victor remained seated – as usual.

"May I take the liberty of introducing Ms. Stella Walker from Area 2 in Texas." Bill stood proudly next to Stella with his hand placed on the small of her back. They did make quite the handsome couple.

"Ah, yes. And to what do we owe the pleasure?" Now victor stood and inclined his head to the female standing across the table from him. Bill's stance stiffened. If he was trying to hide his affection for her, he was doing an immensely shitty job of it. Though he might just be playing the part designated to him. I had to admit, as a friend, I did not approve of Victor's interest in Stella either, though we might use it to our advantage.

"Sheriff Northman and Mr. Compton have been kind enough to host me while I'm in town. The area I come from in Texas doesn't have a large vampire population, but I am trying to drive more vampire consumerism our way. I thought I might come discover what makes this town so attractive to us. I find I enjoy myself so much here," she smiled over at Bill, "that I'm considering opening a second location of my book store in the area – with the Sheriff's permission, of course. Mr. Compton owns a strip center in a neighboring town, and he might be persuaded to rent me some space. Isn't that right, Bill?"

"Well, we shall see what happens." Cryptic enough.

I motioned for al the vampires to sit and Indira brought Stella her blood. We all sat and sipped and chatted rather loathsome small talk about finances and the King's next progress through his territories, the Audits, what Areas had fallen behind in their tribute (more appropriately labeled taxation). Sandy proposed that as the most affluent Area in the Louisiana Territories, I might hold a conference or seminar for the other Sheriffs instructing them in good business practices. I couldn't help but raised my eyebrows at such a suggestion. It was ridiculous. No self respecting Area Sheriff would be told how to run his organization by another vampire.

"It seams to me, if you don't mind my opinion," though Stella never waited for confirmation to the contrary, "that it's the character of the vampire that determines how smoothly the Area is progressing. Well, like any leader, he or she must be well liked and respected, but not simply a dictator or boss. Do you see? I believe that's the reason that Eric was allowed to remain Sheriff after your coup."

"Darling, let's not go calling names –"

"But that's what it was," she cut Bill off. I could sense Victor tensing from across the table. Sandy looked amused. "It's a moot point as to what to call it. It's over now and Louisiana and Arkansas belong to Nevada." She smiled prettily at the two politicians.

"Insightful, but I would not refer to the Sheriffs I have placed in this state as dictators." Victor was less taken with Stella at the moment.

"Surely you mean the Sheriffs that the King has placed. Oh!" Stella pretended being startled as Bill pulled her up by the arm and guided her to a corner to 'have words with her'.

"How long are you allowing her to stay in residence, Eric?" Sandy swirled her cooling blood around in her glass as she motioned to the nearest fangbanger to bring her another.

"She keeps Compton occupied and content to continue working on his database. It has been a great source of revenue for our State, as you know. I'm willing to put up with her indiscrepancies as long as he is willing to curtail them from time to time. Do you wish me to send her back to Texas, Sandy?"

"No. She amuses me. I like to listen to her ideas. She is young still and has not lost her idealism from her human life. Speaking of young idealists, what of your bonded? How is she fairing with her illness? The King is always interested in her wellbeing."

I glanced across the room at Bill whispering something into Stella's ear in a very intimate manner. If he was uncomfortable playing escort to Stella he was doing a good job of hiding it. Perhaps I should stop discouraging such a match. Though I was quite sure Stella would have little effect on Bill's devotion to Sookie. Like a dog.

"She is being well cared for."

"As can be expected for the consort of one such as yourself." It took all my patience to stay seated rather than flying across the table to snatch Victor's head from his body at that moment. I did let the softest growl escape as Bill and Stella returned to the table.

"What's the topic now?" she asked brightly. "What did I miss?"

"We were just discussing Northman's pet telepath." Three of the four vampires surrounding me, tensed noticeably at the term pet, as Victor smiled on in superiority. There was nothing I could do to him at the moment, though he was aware I was more than willing to try. The tension only lasted a few seconds until the waitress returned with more shit-blood for Sandy and Victor to sip from their fancy glasses. I smiled.

"I know a creature like that where I'm from. She's an employee of mine. I rent her a room. She has prophetic dreams, I'm fairly sure," Stella offered.

"Sookie can only read human minds. She is not a psychic or a prophet," Bill supplied loyally in Sookie's defense.

"Still, humans are emerging more and more frequently with extra-human powers. Isn't it interesting?" The conversation digressed and briefly encompassed the Texas Telepath, before turning to conversation over the fairy exodus ad the Were Revelation. I was growing bored with it. When would Pam be calling Arkansas?

***

"_In what George Orwell novel do barn dwellers insist, 'four legs good, two legs bad'?_

1984, Animal Farm, Homage to Catalonia, _or_ Land of Pigs?"

The blonde and her boyfriend in the back seat of the cab were stumped, but I remembered the book from Junior High School. I blurted out, "Animal Farm!" at the same time Sam shouted, "1984!" The couple was out of time.

"_I'm sorry, the answer was _Animal Farm. _But we are only one block from your destination. Unfortunately that was your third strike and I'm gonna have to kick you out. Good luck getting home._" The host/cabbie smiled knowingly at the camera as if to say his passengers had been morons. "_All animals are equal_."

"That settles it. I'm takin' you with me if I ever go for a cab ride in New York," Sam chuckled sheepishly.

"You should take Bubba, he'll get all the music questions." Bubba was sitting in the little recliner (much too little for his big frame), reading a Rolling Stone magazine one of the nurses had brought in. "You really don't have to stay all night, Sam. You've gotta be wiped, and I'm guessing I'm pretty boring right now."

"If Eric's got El- Bubba staying till he gets back, I think there's a chance I should be here too. What's he up to tonight, anyway?"

"I though it was a dinner with the King's representatives, but who knows for sure. Especially if he thinks there might be trouble." I let out a breath I realized I had been holding for most of the time that Eric had been away.

"Well, Filepe's representatives might be reason for him to expect trouble." Sam must have seen the concern wash over my face, because he scrambled to correct himself. "Or he could just want someone here to notify him if you have another episode." That line of thought hadn't helped my mood either.

I grabbed the remote and began to channel surf in silence while Sam sulked.

"Well, that teal color doesn't do a thing for your complexion. Surely these _scrubs_ come in other colors. Perhaps yellow." An all too chipper tall, blonde vampire whisked through the door. Pam was wearing perfectly fitted light blue jeans, an over sized bright white cashmere sweater with a deep v-neck, and what I suspected were a pricy pair of Jimmy Choo's in silver leather.

"Nice shoes," I said by way of a greeting.

"Thanks, Sookie, dear. Eric finally replaced the pair I ruined while tracking that disgusting Maenad. It was about time." Under her arm she carried a stack of papers, probably printed out at Fangtasia and a large tote bag.

"What brings you here Pam? Trouble on the Western Front?"

"If you are referring to our visitors from Nevada, I quite do not know what you mean. I have simply come to see my friend who is in the hospital. And to confirm that you are pleased with your manicure." I couldn't help but giggle.

"My nails are beautiful, Pam."

"Splendid. Then I can touch up mine tonight." She walked over to Bubba and motioned for him to vacate the chair. "The master says you may leave now, Bubba. If you go to my house you will find the key where it usually is, and there should be a snack in the neighbors' backyard."

"Thank you, Miss Pam."

"Pam!" I shouted at the thought of Bubba partaking of the neighborhood cat.

"Miss Sookie prefers you drink bottled," she yelled after him as he left the room. He'd forgotten to say goodbye to me, though I think I'd find it hard to hug someone who was on his way to drain a cat.

Rather than have a seat in the recently emptied recliner, Pam motioned for Sam to move from the edge of my bed to the seat. "If you must stay, sit over there." I could see the flush start at Sam's ears and begin to move outward. Pam could be grating at the best of times, especially if you weren't a fan of hers. Sam wasn't.

"Pam, why are you really here?" I asked to avoid a confrontation between the two.

"Aside from the reasons I have already mentioned, Eric wanted someone to be present in case you were not receiving adequate care at this facility. If something happens to you I am to act I his stead and notify him directly. Aren't you more comfortable with me in charge instead of Bubba?"

"Hey, I've been here all night, Blondie. I could have handled things." Sam was still steaming from being ordered to the recliner. He hadn't complied either.

"Just so. I am here as well, shifter."

"Sam said that's probably why Eric was having me 'looked after'. Poor Bubba didn't have a clue."

"Well, your shifter friend has some insight." She smirked across the bed at him.

Before he could get any more upset than he already was, I decided to send him on an errand. "Hey, I'm cold. Could you ask a nurse if I can have some hot chocolate? If not, another blanket and a cup of water would be great, Sam." He nodded to me and turned and walked away like a man on a mission, though I'm sure he was just glad to be getting away from Pam while still being of use to me.

"I am also instructed to make sure you are packed and ready to leave at first dark tomorrow." She sat down gracefully on the edge of my bed and slipped her shoes off onto the floor. "But first, let's read a little Abby. You can read while I paint." She smiled her toothy smile as she handed me the stack of papers she had indeed printed from Fangtasia's computer. She then retrieved her manicure set and a bottle of demure pink nail polish from her tote. "This will be much more entertaining than last night."

"So sorry I wasn't a great hostess last night, Pam."

"That's quite alright, Sookie. Start with page 1."


	15. The Wait of Days

A/N: Have a Happy Weekend! Go see 'The Lovely Bones" or "The Book Of Eli".

Enjoy

***

The _lab_ part of 'sleep lab' was no joke. Everything was very sterile, and incredibly uncomfortable. Abel had made good on his promise and scheduled his time to go in to the clinic during the same week. They had told me to stay awake for thirty-six to forty-eight hours before hand, so that I would be primed for REM that first night. I had no trouble with this, since I still sometimes cringed at the thought of what was going on inside my head while unconscious, and therefore averaged about two to three hours a night.

Stella was still in Louisiana, checking out the commerce and considering an offer to open a second location of the Fly Leaf there. Abel had put a little pressure on her and she had talked to Aus, ok'd the schedule change, and the two of us would be working mornings only for the next week or so.

I was asked to come showered and dry (I'm not joking, they specified dry) and with suitable pajamas (I assumed that meant no sexy lingerie – no problem there). I brought a bag with clothes for the following day, lotion and deodorant, a little make up, a hairbrush, my MP3 player, and cell phone. The tunes and phone were confiscated first – actually they were simply turned off and left in the duffle. Everything else was Kosher. Austin dropped me off so that she could meet the technicians and supervising physician, but I would be riding with Abel the rest of the time.

I said my goodbyes to Aus and went into the tiny single bathroom marked women's to change. I pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail – as requested – removed all clothes and bra, and slipped my tank type gown over my head. It was a little chilly so I threw my grey cardi back on and stepped out into the lab.

There was a sweet little girl, about my age, waiting beside the bed to attach the leads. I cringed, then smiled so she didn't get the wrong idea. I had no problems with her or the doctor, just fear of what they would reveal at the end of the study. I climbed into the bed and under the covers as she began hooking the first of the leads to my chest. "This is a heart monitor," she explained, and so on with each connection.

About fifteen minutes into the process, Abel walked out of the men's room in a pair of boxer briefs and a loose fitting t-shirt.

"Hi," I squeaked. Stupid. But I couldn't help that he had a nice ass, well displayed at the moment.

"Howdy. Sorry I'm late. We gonna be in the same room all night?"

The technician explained that in a normal lab situation there would be separate rooms for each patient, but because this was an academic facility we would all be in the single room with curtains pulled between the sleep bays. All of us included the two of us. Most of the study had been completed by now since it had taken me so long to finally make my appointment.

Another tech came in to prep Able while Audrey – my tech – finished with me. We were asked a series of questions – 'Do you experience incontinence during the night? Any history of night seizures? Any history of low blood sugar? Sleep walking?' and so on. Then we were told what button to push if we needed anything, and we would be woken between five and six AM.

It was dead silent in the room, and nearly pitch black. I was jittery and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do if I couldn't sleep. I was pretty sure Abel was awake. I heard his steady breathing, not the heavy deep sleep kind most people transition to after drifting off. As I lay in silence my mind shifted from one topic to the next without discretion. I was suddenly wondering what vampires wore to their coffins in the morning and how that habit had changed or remained the same since they 'came out of the coffin'. I found myself giggling before I could help it.

"What's so funny?" I could hear Abel rearranging himself in the bay next to me.

"Hey, what does Stella wear to bed for the day?" I couldn't help but grin at the possibilities. I envisioned flannel PJ's with white fluffy clouds all over them. I was definitely running on minimal sleep at this point.

"I've never seen her go to shelter." He sounded less amused. I guess the reality of living with a vampire was less glamorous than the fantasy. "I know she gets Victoria's Secret catalogues in the mail, but I just can't bring myself to wonder what she orders from them." There was a hint of a chuckle on the end of that.

"Sorry. I was just thinking what it must be like to climb into a coffin at dawn and not come out till dusk. I thought, this room is so quiet and dark, you know? Then I guess my mind took a little trip."

"I think they're out cold as soon as the sun is up. Pretty sure they don't have any nights lying awake in the dark."

"I wonder what these little electrodes would learn about Vamp sleeping habits?" I mused out loud.

"Well, that's the flipside of this study. A few volunteered. They get hooked up before they climb into their coffins and they're monitored all day. It's only the young ones though, no older vampire would agree to it. They stay pretty secretive about their daytime places." He sounded sad when he said it.

"That's pretty heavy. So what do you think of your aunt's new guy? He's a vampire, right?"

"Please refrain from conversation. Sleep aides are available if needed." The doctor's voice blared loudly, interrupting our impromptu chat.

"Sorry!" I yelled to the dark room. Abel started laughing and had trouble stopping. But in a few moments I felt the weight of days start to pull me under. The conversation had put me at ease and I was pretty sleep deprived. Before I could think to whisper a goodnight, I was gone.

Just as suddenly, as if I was coming out of anesthesia again, I was aware of being awake. It wasn't a full consciousness, though. I couldn't drag my eyelids open over the surface of my eyes. I resided in the dark, somehow aware it was lightening outside, and recalling fragments of the dream. I wished now that I had brought my pad along with me, but I hadn't written anything down or even looked at it since the first time.

I tried to hold onto the images as much as possible before they slipped away like they always did. I caught glimpses of a young girl with very long brown hair. She was doubled over on the floor of a beautiful house and it was nearly dark outside. Then she was gone and there was the blonde couple I had seen in FL so many weeks ago. They were fighting, saying terrible things to each other. She called him a liar. He looked like she'd slapped him. They were gone. And there were flashes of others, other people in other places, sometimes happy and smiling, sometimes not. And I began to fall away into darkness.

"Miss Thompson, it's five forty in the morning. You can get dressed now."

***

"So do you think he likes her? He seems happy?"

Sookie sat in the bathtub with her long blonde locks pilled atop her pretty little head. I found myself staring again. I sat on the floor and leaned against the bathroom vanity. She resembled something of her old self as she sat there, shaving her legs. She wasn't trying to be provocative. She didn't have to try. With the help of intensive antibiotics for the pneumonia, blood thinners for the clot, the new drug from Princeton, and a considerable amount of forced rest, my dear one was improving.

She was preparing for a night out as reward for 'good behavior' – her phrase, though I was inclined to agree. Bill and Stella would be meeting us at Fangtasia, before heading out to dinner. I had decided to give her a little warning about Bill and Stella. She'd taken it much better than I had expected, which pleased me.

"I'm not jealous, Eric! I just want Bill to be happy. I have high standards for him." She switched legs and placed her razor to her supple skin once more. "But don't you think for a second I'll forget to tell her why we're no longer together. A girl deserves to know. She can make her decision from there."

I smiled at her attempt to _protect_ the female vampire in question. "I question the necessity of that action. Stella is in a different situation and no doubt wants different things than a human in a relationship with a vampire."

"Do you think I have unrealistic expectations?" She was teasing, but also a little serious. I was treading lightly as best I could on thin ice.

"Yes, always. But I love a challenge." She smiled and returned to concentrating on her task. "Yes. He is happy. For the moment. That should ease your mind, Dear One. Now, I must go prepare for this evening."

I stood and kissed the mound of blonde curls crowning her head before exiting the bathroom. I walked down the hall to our bedroom to change into fresh jeans and shirt. As I pulled the ragged Fangtasia t-shirt off over my head, I heard a gasp and a soft curse from the hall bath – "Shit!" I was back to the bathroom in seconds.

"Jesus, Shepard of Judah, it won't stop." She held a now soaked red washcloth to her leg, which had once been grey. The razor lay on the floor and there was blood swirling around, and dispersing in the bathwater. I lifted her out of the tub and sat her on the floor, reaching for the washcloth. She recoiled slightly before relenting.

A crescent shaped slice of skin had been removed from just below her knee. I quickly sliced my tong open on my fang and kissed her wound closed. She let out a breath as she examined the tiny almost invisible scar. "Guess I won't be wearing a mini skirt tonight." She smiled up at me and shooed me back to the bedroom.

It was something we tried not to talk about. She felt guilty and I felt like a monster. We had mutually decided my feeding from her was no longer an option. So long as she was on the blood thinners, of course. This made sense, though she felt guilty for depriving me of blood, and I was disgusted with myself for craving it despite the apparent repercussions. I would survive. She might not.

She walked up behind me as I was stepping into a clean pair of jeans. She leaned her forehead against my back and wrapped both arms around my chest. Then she crossed the room to the closet, allowing me a pleasant view of her delectable ass. As much as I would have liked to take it as an invitation, to call Bill and say, "To Hell with you" (making proper apologies to Stella, of course), to grab and hold and kiss and fuck the beautiful creature standing in front of me, I refrained. She was only teasing, and thoroughly tired – physically as well as mentally. It had been some time since she had enjoyed our lovemaking, perhaps since Houston.

I turned around and finished dressing.

I could hear the sound of cloth sliding over skin. I was jealous of that cloth. _Ridiculous, Northman_. As I turned back to her she sat on the edge of our bed, slipping her feet into a delicate pair of very high, black heals. She wore dark and distressed, _very_ well fitted jeans, and a loose white t-shirt with a plunging neckline. Her hair fell in long curls down her sleek back. This was my favorite part of each night. Watching her dress, bath, sit, read, sleep – anything she did – was like viewing a ballet, beautiful and graceful.

She stood and walked to the mirror to apply her mascara and gloss, and slide her feather earrings into her delicate earlobes. I walked over to the closet and retrieved the Tiffany blue box from beneath several rarely worn sweaters. I removed the bauble from inside and placed it in my pocket. It would be easier for her to accept if she had a more vague idea of the cost.

"You look great, don't change." She was walking toward me as I placed the box back beneath the clothing. I reached down to grab my boots.

"Ready?"

"Ready."


	16. Peace, Love and Understanding?

A/N: A couple of songs for this one. _Tainted Love_, as performed by Marylin Manson, followed by _Vitamin R_ by Chevelle and _Cheap and Cheerful_ by The Kills. These are for the first few paragraphs which take place in Fangtasia. The title is taken from the song of the same title by A Perfect Circle. Feel free to listen, as it is an amazing song, though it has little to do with the chapter. I recommend _Hunted By A Freak _by Mogwai for the piece after dinner.

***

Against Eric's 'better judgment' (which was beginning to take on the same meaning as Against Medical Advice) I decided I wanted to do a bit of dancing before we left Fangtasia. I got a little devious and thought I'd make Eric squirm a little, so I called in a favor… of sorts.

Felicia was tending bar tonight, and considering she'd lasted longer than any other Fangtasia bartender since I'd been around (I swear it's not my fault, but they were dropping like flies for a while there), she figured she owed me one. I asked her to call the DJ at KDED and request a particular song. Unfortunately I forgot to specify the recording artist.

"By special request, for those of you visiting The Bar With Bite tonight, here's to your listening and _viewing_ pleasure." I winked at Eric and drug his handsome hinny out onto the dance floor.

At first he looked a little skeptical, but as the song began to play, the joke was on me. I'd requested _Tainted Love_, but not by Marilyn Manson. Who could dance to this? I'm guessing the embarrassment was pretty plain on my face, because Eric got that look in his eye and grabbed me. The most deliciously dirty shimmying ensued. Everyone was staring. I don't do well with staring. Finally, after an agonizing – but still enjoyable – three minutes of elicit dancing, Eric led me back to our table. Bill and his new partner sat sipping from their bottles of blood. I was flushed and perfectly pleased when a smiling Felicia sat a cold glass of ginger ale in front of me. Stella was smiling over the lip of her bottle at the two of us. Bill was gaping. Big shock.

It was almost pointless for me to talk at the moment. I was winded and the music had returned to the status quo KDED heavy alternative rock. The vampires weren't having any problems hearing each other. I watched Bill and Eric exchange a few words, their usual bickering, and I noticed Stella laughing a little at whatever Eric had said. I hoped he was behaving. I sent him a little mental nudge through the bond. He squeezed my hand, which was about as vague an answer as any.

I turned to look at Stella. She was a young girl – older than me, but that's hard to remember when you're talking about the eternally beautiful, i.e. vampires – she looked about twenty or so, but said she was turned in the late fifties. Her hair was bobbed short and curled around her face and she wore jeans, heals and a beautiful plumb colored dolman sweater. It looked like something I'd seen in one of Amelia's catalogues. I'm sure Stella and Pam would have tons of fun shopping together.

She had a really bright attitude for a vampire and I liked her all the more for it. She was easy to talk to, and she didn't give me that vibe the ex typically gets from the new girlfriend. I know vampires don't really give off vibes, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't an issue. No competition here. I sat back in my chair and prepared myself for a pleasant night out with friends. It was something I hadn't experienced in a long time and I figured it was due.

We sat through a few more songs, and I was practically giddy when Stella tried to pull Bill out onto the dance floor. She brushed it off easily when he refused, and we gathered our coats and headed out of the bar and off to dinner.

***

"Weren't you supposed to be hosting Felipe soon?" She was shoveling a generous sized bite of filet minion into her mouth soon after her question. We were at Vintage, a steakhouse downtown that Sookie had been dying to try. Her portion was quickly disappearing. There was a hollowed out baked potato and empty lobster shell already shoved to the side of her plate. Only a few asparagus spears and several pink pieces of steak remained.

"He has been delayed." Bill waved a waiter over for more blood.

"Bill told me how much you love books." Stella stiffly tried to steer the chatter to safer topics. "Has Eric told you about my store?"

"Oh, I've been there, actually. In January. I love your set up, but I didn't get to look around much."

"Oh, I had no idea you two were in town. We could have met sooner." _You're a cool liar, Stella Walker_. She smiled knowingly at me. Stella was more than half the reason I had arranged for us to stay at Avia that week. "Anyway, I just love being here and I'm looking for a legitimate excuse to spend more time in the Area. Bill says there's some space next to a clothing retailer in a shopping strip he owns. I'm heading out there tomorrow to take a look at it. Maybe I'll open another little shop. Books were a passion I never could give up."

"Oh, yeah, you'll love it there. And we'll love having you. As it is you've got to go down to the mall or over to the Barnes&Noble downtown if you want to buy anything to read. I mean, there's always Wal-Mart, but their selection's not always so great. I usually head to the library, but if I'm ever Christmas shopping I can't pass up the bookstore."

"Dear One, any books you wish to have you may purchase. Books are something to be collected and treasured." It was ridiculous that she still insisted on gathering her books from the library when I had a veritable library of my own in my home that she was welcome to add to.

"I know," she whispered and squeezed my hand. She did not want to discuss it. She felt she was spending too much of my money as it was.

"Maybe we could talk about you working there." This was not something Stella had discussed with me. "I mean, if I ever actually get it up and going."

"Oh, I've always wanted to work at a bookstore. I think it would be fun. But all I've ever done is waitress. I don't know."

"Hey, all you have to do is love books, and be good with people. I could teach you the rest."

"It remains to be seen if this bookstore will even open. Maybe you could discuss it at another time." Bill could tell I was getting agitated. As usual he was trying to play peacekeeper. Sookie, however, oblivious to the causation of my irritation, returned to a previous line of thought.

"Why are you so antsy?" She had all but cleaned her plate and now sipped a glass of cabernet. I dampened my emotions flowing across the bond. In retrospect, I should have done nothing. She squinted at me. "So what's going on in the world of vampire politics? What keeps Felipe out of the Area?"

She was treading on dangerous ground. If I kept information from her, it was for her own good. She was well aware. She was also too intelligent to be lied to for long. She new I had been keeping something from her, though it was not the greatest of my secrets. I glared at her, as she stared over her glass at me.

"He was detained on a diplomatic excursion to the Arkansas Territories."

"That's BS, Bill, and I should know what that sounds like coming from you." Stella lowered her eyes as Bill fought to close his jaw. "Don't act like I can't see he's been keeping something from me. I don't know if it's because everyone thinks I'm sick and frail, or dumb and slow, or just not worthy of knowing, but… Let me tell you all another thing. I'm pretty deeply invested into this whole supe society, and I think I've put myself through enough to earn some solidarity. What is going on?"

Though Bill was aware of how Sookie was prone to question motives and second guess decisions that had been made for perfectly valid reasons, Stella had never seen this kind of display from a human toward a vampire before, and was doubtfully expecting it coming from my bonded. It was unacceptable. I reached out and removed the wine glass from her hand, placing it squarely on the table. I sent a warning along with it over the bond and I prayed for her sake she felt it.

"We are leaving now." I stood and began walking to the front exit of the restaurant. I heard Bill, now several yards behind me, suggest that Sookie should follow, but I did not wait to hear her response. I was outside with her car door open moments later when she emerged.

"I didn't even have time to put my coat on, and you left Bill with the check."

"Get in."

Minutes later we were speeding down I-20 toward Bon Temps. She remained quiet in the seat next to me. After a few more minutes, she spoke.

"Could you please slow down? I'd rather die of cancer than in a car accident."

I was not amused, though I dropped my speed a few miles per hour. The wine she had consumed diminished her inhibitions, and the new drug warned of behavioral side effects as well. Pair that with Sookie's usual disposition and bad things were eminent. If she had reserved herself until we could speak privately, I would have dismissed the behavior entirely. Though a scene was the last thing I was willing to take from her. She knew precisely why I was angry. She didn't seem to care.

"Call your witch friend and tell her to leave for the evening."

"I'm not asking Amelia to go anywhere." She stared stubbornly out the passenger window.

I closed my eyes and drew an unnecessary breath. My fangs fell out another fraction of an inch, as they were already extending. "Then where shall we go to talk privately, my love?"

"That really depends on what you want to talk about, Eric. If you'd like to discuss ways of killing me, maybe I'd like some witnesses."

"Stop being asinine, woman! You asked me a question. Now I am going to answer it." I tossed my phone into her lap. "Call her. Now!" She stared blankly at the phone for several more minutes. "Sookie?"

"I'm dialing. Don't get your panties twisted. But I'm not telling her to stay gone all night. It's her home too, you know."

After Sookie hung up the phone I reached over and took her hand in mine. I was still very agitated and her anger was adding to it. We both needed to calm down. We pulled into her empty driveway about half an hour later. The witch had taken direction well and should be absent until the shifter closed his bar late this evening. We walked up the back porch steps together and entered her kitchen. There was a fresh pot of coffee and a note from Amelia, stating exactly what I had guessed – she would be home after Merlotte's closed.

As Sookie began to pour herself a cup of coffee I went to the refrigerator to retrieve a blood and placed it in the microwave to heat. All of this was done in silence and moments later we were sitting across from one another at her kitchen table. Like a commander analyzing his plan of action, I was trying to decide how best to go about divulging my plans to Sookie. She spoke first.

"I love you." She was looking at me with the most clear, bright blue gaze – honest and unrepentant. "But you can't keep me in the dark about all that's going on with you. It's also what's going on with us. I know very well that what you do affects me. That's what scares me – when you don't tell me what you're up to – because I don't know what you're getting _us_ into." She took a long sip of her coffee. "And, I'm sorry. At the restaurant, I…"

"Yes."

"Well… I'm sorry. Isn't that enough?"

"For what are you sorry?" I wanted to be sure she understood I was angry not because of her curiosity, but because of the disrespect she displayed toward me in front of my subordinates.

"For what I said in front of Stella and Bill."

"It is forgotten." I waved my hand as if clearing away smoke in the air. "Now, as for Felipe. He truly was detained by business in Arkansas. It just so happens that a rather high profile underling of The King's was discovered dealing heavily in vampire blood in the Arkansas Territories. It has the potential to turn into a PR nightmare for His Majesty. Of course it required his immediate attention. Sandy's as well."

"No!" Her face lit up like it might while hearing a juicy piece of gossip in line at the local grocery. "Who was it?"

"I have it on good authority that while other vampires were also involved, the cartel was being masterminded by _Victor Madden_." I tried to keep my smile from widening too broadly.

"Wow. He's got his fingers in all sorts of pies, huh?" She shook her head and stood up to take my empty bottle and heat a replacement. As she pressed start on the microwave, she spun around to face me once more. "Why would you want to keep that quiet from _me_? Eric, you aren't responsible…"

"Absolutely not." My face was carefully blank, though I knew my emotions would give away the truth of it. She knew it was my handiwork. Though I couldn't claim all the credit. It had taken many vampires throughout the two Territories as well as several other states to pull off our little charade.

"Eric…" She looked almost pleadingly at me. I stood and stepped closer to her, pinning her between myself and the counter, forcing her to turn her face up to look me in the eyes. I took her face in my hands and brushed a bright blonde curl off her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. She lowered her eyes. This was not what she had been pleading for, but she needed it nonetheless. We both needed this.

I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and began trailing kisses down her face to her neck. She moaned in response as each kiss grew in urgency. I nipped at her breasts through her shirt and her nipples stood erect for me. I knelt and kissed and bit at her belly through the thin t-shirt fabric.

Her shoes had come off at the back door, so I need not worry about them as an obstacle. I unbuttoned her jeans and slid my fingers between denim and skin, sliding them slowly over her hips – not so ample as they used to be, but still a bounty. I dropped them to the floor and lifted her feet out one at a time.

Sitting back on my haunches, I admired this creature standing in front of me. She remained clothed in t-shirt and black lace boy shorts – not for long.

We left the kitchen, her in my arms, and my blood forgotten and cooling on the counter.


	17. Don't Give Yourself Away

A/N: The song referred to at the end of the chapter is Joni Mitchel's _Both Sides Now._ I have also referenced Elton John's _Mona Lisas and mad Hatters_, as well as the most amazing movie, Cameron Crowe's _Almost Famous_. That's the rundown for this chapter. Hope you enjoy it (and for a bit of fun, check out my new one shot, **It's Complicated**).

Please let me know how I'm doing,  
Peace and Love  
-Yve

***

We both managed to get dressed and snuggled up on the couch by the time Amelia made it home from Merlotte's. She crashed in through the back door, stumbling and giggling. I stood up, prepared to be furious at Amelia having driven home drunk. She could have called.

"Amelia Broadway!" I started chiding as she stood in front of the stove trying to light a burner. I lost my train of thought as a slightly more sober Jason (yes, that would be my Jason) stepped through the back door.

"No worries Sook," she giggled at me. "I didn't drive myself. Stupid burner. Thought you'd be busy or asleep by now anyway." I could hear Eric's quiet rumble of amusement from the couch.

"Hey, Sookie." My brother stepped over and gave me a sheepish kiss on the cheek. At least he didn't reek of beer. "Don worry. I ain't been drinkin' all that much tonight. You know Sam'd skin me alive 'fore letting me leave drunk. I told him I'd get 'Melia, here, home safe."

"'Melia!" Amelia erupted into hysterical laughter and nearly tripped over her own shoes. Of course, my brother came to her rescue. By now I was so uncomfortable Eric had taken up his station at my side with his arms draped reassuringly around my shoulders.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt your night Mr… uh, er, Eric." Jason was stammering like an idiot, trying to support Amelia who supposedly found a great deal of humor in the situation. At least my brother had the good grace to blush. He knew me, and knew it was a stupid idea to bring a girl back to my house to get laid. Especially when that girl was my roommate.

"No problem at all, Jason. Sookie and I were just about to watch a movie. Perhaps you should put Amelia to bed, and we shall stay out of one another's way this evening." At least he'd accomplished getting them out of my sight, but in the same breath he'd given them license to mess around upstairs. They said their good-nights, then Jason had to practically carry Amelia up the little narrow staircase. That, at least was entertaining to watch.

Eric steered me back to the couch and sat me down. I hadn't spoken since I saw Jason come through the door. I shook my head in disbelief. "Huh." I laughed, a short ironic laugh.

"What is it?" Eric asked from where he was seated on his knees in front of me.

"Jason. He's thinking he's worried about Amelia. He wants to… 'hit that', gross, but he doesn't want her to regret it later. I don't guess they'll be having sex tonight. Was that awful of me to listen in, Eric?"

"Amusing, yes. Not awful. What does Amelia think?"

"That she's really drunk and Jason's really sweet, but she'll probably regret this. She doesn't care. She's tired of caring what people will think. And she thinks it's ridiculous he calls her 'Melia. Jason's on his way downstairs. What do you want to watch?" I grabbed a handful of movies off the coffee table as my brother clomped down the stairs, still wearing his work boots from earlier today. He clomped over to the couch, kissed me on my head, clapped Eric's shoulder, and let himself out the backdoor without a word. "I think he really likes her."

"They have both lost someone dear to them recently." He was starring off into space as he said it. He was right, Jason had lost Crystal and the baby, and Amelia had lost Trey. Right around the same time, too. "And you are very important to both of them. These things are their common bonds. Maybe they are not as unlikely a match as you would have them be."

"Maybe."

We ended up watching the movie _Almost Famous_. I had always wanted to hear what Eric had to say about it. As into music as he was, I was sure he'd been around a few touring bands through the decades. He laughed – more than I thought he would – and I found myself, snuggled there against this godlike man, thinking I could get used to this going on forever. I was glad he couldn't read my mind any better than I could read his. Though I think something must have passed to him through the bond. I heard him rumble for no particular reason and he tightened his hold on me. Then he nipped at my neck before turning his attention back to the movie and singing softly along to _Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters_.

***

Nice as it was to be back working days, it seemed like it had been for nothing. I sat at the front desk of FL, reading the email from the sleep lab.

_We are happy to inform you that your sleeping patterns appear to be normal. Though you have expressed complaints about vivid, stressful dreams, we have found no evidence that you are experiencing night terrors and we are convinced that you are having normal, functional, REM-time dreams. Furthermore, there is no evidence of apnea, insomnia…_

The list went on. I had no sleep abnormalities. All tests showed me within the 'normal' range.

I sighed heavily and Abel walked over from the front entrance where he had been cleaning the glass. "Hey, we'll figure this out. I promise." I smiled up at him weakly. "I've got to go to a Statistics class after I take you home, but it's over at 9. Let me take you to dinner. You need to decompress. Guerrero's is famous for serving minors. And they have killer taquitos."

I thought very seriously about a Guerrero's margarita. "As long as you promise to be the designated driver."

When he dropped me off at the apartment later that afternoon, I found Ausie carrying boxes down the stairs to the living room.

"Hey," she waved cheerily with one hand while she held a box propped against her hip with the other.

"Hi?" I waved my hand, indicating the stack of boxes by the door. They were all full of Ausie's things. "Something I missed?"

"No. No, sorry." She sounded winded. "I only found out late last night, and you had already left for work when I got up, so… Oh, there's stuffed peppers in the oven." Suck up. One of my favorite meals. I just stood frozen, staring at my sister, who was obviously in the process of moving out. "Stella needs me to take over the shop for a while. Like serious managerial duties. She's opening that new store near Shreveport, so she'll be out of town even more now."

"Can't you do that from here?"

"It's easier if I have immediate access to her files and everything. There's that huge room downstairs near her office, and… you _do_ remember that kitchen, right? I mean I'd love to cook in there. Upgraded room and board was part of the deal. And a salary. And you don't have to pay any rent on this place either. You've been such a great help at FL. She and I were both hoping you'd stay."

"You're moving out? I moved here to live with you. Can't you just…" I was at a loss for words.

"Hey, I'm just gonna be next door. Can you give me a hand with this stuff? I wanna get the boxes over there before mid-shift ends. I've got to go in and start going over some things tonight. Looks like I'll be keeping vampire hours for a while. Grab that box, kiddo."

I helped her move a few boxes and sent the peppers over to the big house with her. She was disappointed but I didn't really care at the moment. I told her I had a dinner date and stalked back up the driveway to _my_ apartment.

At dinner I had two mojitos and felt very sheik. I didn't tell Abel about Ausie moving out. He brought it up on his own. Apparently Stella text messaged him just after dark. He said it would be strange being in the house with someone besides Stella. He'd been living with her since he graduated high school, not wanting to stay with his mom. He'd gotten used to the privacy and independence.

"It's not that I don't like your sister. She's great, we get along. It's just, I don't really know her, and… I don't know. I'll get over it."

"Heh. You should move in with me." I wasn't really thinking when I said it. Abel started laughing, though and that started me thinking. Why not? If she could make changes in her life, I could certainly make them in mine. Abel was my friend. Why couldn't we live together? "Seriously. Will you do it?"

"Uh, sure. I wasn't exactly asking…"

"I know, it was my idea. We'll move you in this weekend. We can have a painting party. Aus' room is bright yellow. It's pretty girly."

That was settled. I can't remember much more of dinner. I can't remember much more of anything, except for my dream that night. It was the most vivid, confusing one yet. I heard the sounds as if I was there, saw the colors so brightly, more brightly than I had any right to, since it was night time in the dream. I heard Joni Mitchell in the background and it gave me chills.

There were people milling around, not a large crowd but a good number of people. All dressed up, and we were outside. In Stella's backyard. There were candles and hanging lanterns placed all around the yard. Three very beautiful people started walking toward me. Two of them looked like – no, they _were_ the blonde couple I'd seen in my dreams before. Between them walked a pale dark haired man in his thirties. I could tell he was a vampire. I don't know why.

They began speaking to me, but all I could hear were the words of the song. The dark haired vampire excused himself and walked across the yard to where Stella was standing. She looked like stone. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't crying either. She just stared off into space. I turned back to the blonde couple and the woman reached her hand out to touch my shoulder. She was cool. She opened her mouth to speak and the music stopped. "So sorry," she said. I looked down and I was wearing black.

Corgan started barking and I opened my eyes. I was lying on the couch in the apartment, in my pajamas – not sure how any of that happened – and there was a glass knocked over on the floor next to me. Corg was licking up the liquid that had spilled out. I attempted sitting, but my head was murder, so I leaned over the edge of the couch and retrieved the glass. That's when I saw the bottle sitting on the coffee table. Glenlivet 12 year single malt. And it was almost empty. And it hadn't been empty last night.

I sunk deeper into the couch cushions trying to think of something besides my throbbing head. Then the dream came back to me. And the song. We played that song at Mama and Daddy's funeral.


	18. Sweet Disposition

A/N: Sorry about the length, but i wrote this and the next chapter together, and they were just too long to post that way. Hope you enjoy, as things are about to pick up pace again.

-Yve

***

I was driving down I-20 headed back to my house from Shreveport. It was late in the day – 7:50 in the evening – and I was driving away from the sunset, though I had on the darkest pair of sunglasses I could get my hands on. It was also the middle of July and I noticed, as I looked down at my watch, my skin was much more pale than it had been when I used to tan obsessively. Apart from the vampire hours I was now nearly constantly keeping, I was starting to develop some kind of sensitivity to the sunlight – headaches, a rash, itching, and uncontrollable sneezing. It was beyond weird. I was also starting to feel a touch of nausea anytime I went out in the daylight. I had mentioned something about it on my last oncologist visit. The doctors suspected a mild onset of lupus but nothing they were too concerned about.

Their main concern had been figuring out why the nasty little soldiers of death in my lungs seemed to be shrinking, sometimes disappearing altogether. Eric was more than pleased by this, but I was a little skeptical, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. They decided to start weaning me off my different medications, one by one, to determine which ones were doing good, and which, if any, were unnecessary. So far, I had been off the miracle drug from Princeton for two weeks, along with the other cocktail from before for about six weeks, and the blood thinners had gone by the wayside in March. So, save for Eric's blood on a semi-daily basis, I'd been tapering off the drugs for about three months now.

My energy was slowly returning, and I was finding it hard to go from day to day without a job. Though most of my 'day' took place after dark due to these new symptoms.

I was pulling up in my driveway as Amelia's car pulled in behind me. We opened our doors at the same time and she dashed around her car to greet me. It was almost full dark now, but I left my sunglasses on. I smiled at her as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and we walked up the back steps together.

"How was work? Terry still holding up in the kitchen alright?" Things had been hard on Terry since he had taken on the fulltime job of cook when Sam finally got tired of trying to replace everybody. It seemed like the position of cook at Merlotte's was a lot like that of bartender at Fangtasia.

"No flashbacks today," she said with a cheery smile. "Hey, you trying to bring back that old song? _I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can…_"

"Uhg. Corey Hart. No thank you." I made a face and Amelia burst out laughing.

"Hey, Sam said he'd be willing to take the night off if you're free. We haven't done our dinner and a movie thing in months. I know you're feeling better, Sookie. And believe me, I couldn't be happier about it. But we hardly get to see you anymore." She looked so hopeful that I would say yes.

"Eric has a meeting later on tonight he wanted me to go to." I glanced at my watch. "I think it's set for sometime past midnight. Let me see what he wants to do." I tried to ignore the annoyed look on Amelia's face as I pulled out my new Blackberry Curve (another unnecessary gift from you-know-who), and began my text to Eric.

_Dinner/movie night my house? Up to it? We can still make the meeting._

Less than 15 seconds later (how did he do that so fast?) my phone buzzed at me.

_Assuredly. The meeting begins at 1am. Would you like me to pick up anything on my way? I will leave shortly._

_Nothing. I'll whip up some Spaghetti sauce and get Sam to bring a salad. I don't think Amelia's kept the fridge stocked with blood though. Bring some from your fridge in the garage. See you soon._

"Eric's on his way. I'll call Sam and get him to bring stuff for a salad. Spaghetti sound good?" Amelia squealed and hugged me. She then retreated to her room to change (translation – call Jason while changing). I started moving around my old kitchen grabbing pots from the cupboard and gathering the ingredients I needed for my sauce.

Thirty minutes later, the three men of the hour had congregated out in the driveway. Eric was trying to be social for my sake, as Sam and Jason stood out on the porch, exchanging hello's and trying to decide which of the DVD's they'd both brought was tonight's winner. I knew he wasn't thrilled to be associating with my thoughtless brother, and the old boss of mine who still had a bit of a thing for me. It was sweet that he was trying, though.

"Yum." Amelia came bounding down the stairs in denim shorts and a dark blue summer weight sweater, cut deep enough to reveal the top of the lacy bra underneath. She pushed her sleeves up and began slicing the garlic bread and tossing the bag of salad Sam had dropped off inside.

"You look cute," I said, trying to acknowledge her budding relationship with Jason. We hadn't talked about it much, but he was sending her flowers every now and then, and a few months ago, she asked if it would bother me if Jason spent the night every once in a while. They were both adults. I had to let them live their own lives. Besides, I was certainly not qualified to give advice in the love department. But they both seemed pretty happy with each other. My brother was taking things slowly for once – it had lasted more than a month without him straying or her getting pregnant, which was a big accomplishment for Jason. Amelia wasn't obsessing, but she wasn't running away from what was starting to look like a long-term commitment either. I was trying to be happy for them.

"Thanks, Sook. You look mega cute yourself. Where are you shopping these days?"

"Still at Tara's, but she's got a few new companies sending her merchandise these days. She holds things over for me." It was the top of summer in northern Louisiana and I had worn some relaxed and faded Levi's and a loose white baby doll tank with light grey stripes.

"Tell her I said you look hot. I'd like a personal shopper."

Just then the boys made their way in from the porch and over to the table. Sam sat as Eric navigated his way to the refrigerator to get a blood to microwave. Jason sidled up behind Amelia and pressed a loud kiss on her shoulder.

"Hey, Sex Muffin." He smiled ridiculously while she shot me a look of near horror. As uncomfortable as it could have been, I had to laugh. At least a little. I began to think I might be calling Amelia sister soon if this kept up.

"Come here, Jason, and taste this." I held out a spoonful of sauce.

"Damn good sghetti, Little Sister."

I had to admit how nice it was to be back in my house, surrounded by people I loved. I had become consumed by the pills and the doctors appointments, educating myself, what the least little cough could mean, and so on. I had given up exactly what I swore I wouldn't at the beginning of this whole thing.

We sat around the table and talked and joked and ate till we were stuffed. It was amazing. I found my lethargy (word of the day) begin to lift, and that energy I was getting reacquainted with taking it's place.

"What's the movie tonight, guys?" Amelia asked as she leaned over the table, stacking plates and glasses.

"We all agreed on _The 13__th__ Warrior_, if that's alright with the ladies, of course." Sam announced skeptically.

"What's it about?"

"War and it's got Antonio Badass in it!" Jason grinned up at Amelia and she bopped him on the back of his head with her elbow.

"Banderas?"

"That's what I said," he confirmed. She shook her head and deposited the dishes in the sink.

"It is based on a Michael Crichton book called Eaters of The Dead, which is based on the Epic Beowulf." Eric began to explain. "It's an old Anglo-Saxon poem about Swedish tribesmen battling the Grendel, the inhuman foe who plagues their village."

On most movie nights it was only four of us, so we were pressed for seats with Sam in the mix. Amelia and Jason were cuddled up on the far side of the sofa and Sam took the little armchair. I said I could see the TV from the kitchen and offered to sit at the table, but Eric wouldn't have it. I took a seat next to Amelia and Jason instead, and Eric sat in front of me on the floor. I liked it, actually, since it was easy to play with his hair this way. We were watching the Vikings and Ahmad treck through the forest in search of the Wendel and I was struggling to remember the original work. We had read Beowulf in my senior English class, but it wasn't coming back too easily. I leaned down to whisper in Eric's ear. After all, he'd lived there around that time.

"Was Beowulf real? I mean, even if his strength was exaggerated, did he really exist?"

"The more chilling question, Dear One, is 'did Grendel really exist?'"

Sam left right after the movie, and it wasn't long before I realized Jason's intentions to spend the night. It was getting close to time for Eric and I to head back to Shreveport and I was just getting my second wind of the night. I told Eric I'd only be a minute and went into the bedroom to grab a cardigan. It had gotten cooler around eleven and there was a chance of rain so I figured I'd rather be safe than sorry.

When I came out of the bedroom (empty handed – I hadn't realized how much of my clothing lived at Eric's house now) I saw the tall vampire hunched down in front of the dishwasher, staring at the buttons in confusion. The man had a 'smart phone', was texting all the time, and had two Macbook Pro's and an iMac that he could operate with his eyes closed, but my dishwasher was giving him problems. I decided this must be more of a guy thing than a vampire thing and came to his rescue.

We left Jason and Amelia to their own devices and Headed back out to I-20 and west to Shreveport.


	19. Déjà Vu

A/N: The song Eric plays in the car is _Passenger_ by The Deaftones featuring Maynard James Kenon. Without further ado~

***

She shivered as I entered the ramp onto the highway, and I reached into the back seat. I pulled out a royal blue cardigan and laid it across her lap. I found I was getting more astute at anticipating her needs as we spent more and more time together. Over the past few months her circadian clock had cycled back to night time hours. She would bed down when I went to shelter in the mornings and she was seldom awake much earlier than me in the evenings. I had my own theories about this and had consulted Dr. Ludwig as well, though I wasn't about to jump to any conclusions.

Sookie's doctors believed she had developed some kind of mild autoimmune disorder, causing photophobia and other symptom, or that perhaps it was a side effect of the now supposed 'miracle drug' I was fortunate enough to procure from Princeton. What the doctors weren't aware of were the true origins of the lab in question. I had managed to keep it the truth of it obscured from Sookie as well. I was just lucky she hadn't asked about it yet.

We were taking what Sookie believed to be my new car to Fangtasia tonight. I had arrived at her home this evening in the 2008 Dodge Charger, to the amusement of Jason and the shifter. They inspected it and offered their approval for what it was worth. I intended to leave it and the keys with Sookie 'just in case'. It wouldn't be long before her tin can of a vehicle was no longer operational. Whether I would have something to do with that remained to be seen.

The car was a sleek, dark charcoal color, and sexy without being gauche. The main thing, however, was that it was better than her current piece-of-shit. I decided to show her how accommodating the new vehicle was and I turned on the heated seats and opened the moon roof. She smiled at me as the glass roof slid back. "I've never had one of those before. Next car, though. Now all we need is some music." I smiled to myself for anticipating this too.

I had already loaded a new iPod with plenty of music and had it hooked to the stereo's auxiliary input. I knew it wasn't what she was in the mood for, but I liked to make her squirm and I took pleasure as she did that very thing when the music began.

We pulled into the parking lot of Fangtasia at ten to one in the morning. Pamela was stationed outside the front door, looking disinterested as usual. I began to steer Sookie to the back door and away from Pam when I saw her eyes light up at the sight of the Charger. She was almost certain to betray me and inform Sookie of my intentions for the car.

We entered the back and went directly to my office. Sookie took up her usual position on the couch, while I leaned against the front of my desk. We waited in silence for several moments.

"What's this meeting about?"

"Hush, Dear One. Bill should arrive shortly."

"Can I go out to the bar and get a drink before he gets here?"

I pushed the intercom on my desk. "Bring Sookie a ginger ale. And AB negative."

She looked exasperated as she sat there, tapping her little feet. A few moments later there was a single knock on the office door. "Enter." Pamela entered holding a bottle of blood and Sookie's glass in one hand, followed by Bill.

"Sookie, dear." Pam handed her the glass and smiled wickedly at me as I removed my blood from her grasp.

"Sookie. You are looking much improved. Do you feel well?"

"Pam, Bill. Yes, I'm doing much better, thanks, Bill."

"How did you like the new car? Wasn't it just the perfect thing?" Pam was already backing up to the doorway, securing a quick exit. I let out a warning growl and she smirked and retreated without another word.

"What was that all about?" Sookie stood and walked over to give Bill a sort of hug. Though he was uncomfortable touching Sookie in front of me (as he should be), he conceded and gave her shoulders a squeeze.

"What have you found out for us, Bill?" Bill had been on assignment of sorts for the past few weeks in Arkansas. He was assessing the situation between Felipe and Victor's supposed blood cartel.

"Felipe concludes his business in Arkansas within the week. He intends to travel from there to New Orleans to delve further into the accusations against Victor. He informed me that he will be stopping in Shreveport on the way, and he expects to conduct the business that was so unfortunately postponed in February." I let my fangs drop, however imperceptible to the two beings in the room with me. Though they did hear the growl. "That is not all, I am afraid. He travels with Victor in his custody. The vampire is being treated as a pampered prisoner for the time being. Though Felipe gives off the impression that he grows tired of Victor – whether due to our eff… eh, Victor's indiscretions, or otherwise, I am not sure. Though it doesn't look well for Victor."

"It's not fucking well for anyone but the King, is it!?" I turned and raked my nails across the surface of my desk, leaving five smooth indentations.

"Ok. I don't get the weekly Vamp Politics newsletter. What's happening?" Sookie backed up and resumed her seat on the couch, glancing from me to Bill. I was still too furious to speak, and trying to shield the bond from the effects of my anger. Bill took his cue.

"The plan we executed in February was only so effective, Sookie. It delayed the King for a time and secured the final deaths of many of Victor's subordinates, but not Victor himself. He was considered a high ranking subject, so to speak, and many vampires – not least of all Victor, I'm sure – have called for a proper investigation. The King has chosen to humor them. Though he may be ready to do away with Victor anyway, by this point."

"But, ok. If you can convince the King what you say happened with the blood actually happened…"

"We can, I assure you." Bill interrupted her.

"If you can, what else is wrong? Why were you trying to delay him? I thought this was only about Victor? What else?"

Bill stood statuesque. He refused to mention even the possibility, and I was inclined to agree with him. But I was also backed against a wall. At some point, I would require Sookie's cooperation in this. She had to know.

"Did you just say he was going to _acquire _me? As in collect and keep me, like a thing? What makes him think he's got the right?"

My body moved involuntarily to her side. I was gripping her by the arms, perhaps too tightly, but my emotions were already running high, and I certainly hadn't expected that.

"Ow! Eric, what the hell?" I loosened my grip, but continued to hold her firmly. Bill took an instinctive step forward until I shook my head. I wasn't going to hurt her. Though he had an idea of what just happened, and he was well aware of what my reaction should have been. I should have ripped her pretty head from her delicate neck and been done with it. Maybe I would have a few years ago, but things were different now. Bill stepped back.

"I said nothing, Sookie. Why do you think I spoke these things?" She looked at me blankly for a moment, then a nervous smile spread across her face. "How long have you been able to hear my thoughts?" I spoke lowly so that only she or Bill might hear me.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Eric." She lowered her eyes, widened her grin, and slammed the bond shut more successfully than I had ever felt from her before – as if her life depended on it. She might have been correct once, but that very bond was too much to sever willingly. She did not know the measures I had taken to ensure its survival.

"Bullshit!" I lost my grip for moments and screamed it only inches from her face. She began to struggle slightly as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"I will be with Pam… if you need me." Bill made to exit, and it was the most intelligent thing he had done so far in his godforsaken life. I remained silent and still until the door clicked shut behind me.

"Promise to be a good girl and I will let you go. Shh, hush. Don't cry." She nodded her head with fear in her eyes. My heart broke into a million pieces at that moment. I no longer craved fear from this human. Not ever.

She sat quivering like a cornered rabbit for several moments, though she made no move to escape the room. I stood and stepped back to lean against my desk. "Explain what just happened." I used the calmest voice I could manage, though it came out strained and frightened. This took my love off guard and she raised her eyes to look at me.

"I _don't_ know." She released a long breath and continued. "I _really thought_ you said those things. I haven't ever done that before. I swear to God, Eric. I'm really scared."

And I believed she was. I just hoped that she wasn't scared of me, though I wouldn't have blamed her.

"Yes, Felipe wishes to acquire you. As a possession and asset. Though our bond is strong, I am still under the King's power and any protection I can offer you is minimal and inconsequential to him." I braced myself for her reaction to what I would say next. "As an immortal, you would be more difficult for the King to claim. He will desire you all the more when he realizes what has now become evident to me. You must consider this, Sookie. For both our sakes."

"That's ridiculous!" She shouted unexpectedly, and it caused me to take a defensive position. "My choices are letting him control me, or letting you control me?" I fingered the ring resting in my pocket. A strong sense of déjà vu struck and I began to remember a similar fight. Only, that hadn't happened, and I wasn't going to allow it to.

I began to take a step forward. She held up her hand.

"Don't you take one step closer, Northman. I mean it!" She closed her eyes for a few moments as silence flooded the room. "This conversation is over. I'm going to have Bill drive me home. And if he won't do it, I'll call a cab. Don't bother showing up later. I need to be free tonight." Her words stung, and I let my anger take over as I delivered my own attack.

"You have absolutely no sense of self preservation." I watched a tear roll down her cheek.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."


	20. A Cup of Coffee

A/N: And into the deep end we fall. :)

Enjoy!

-Yve

***

Bill dropped me off at my house around two thirty in the morning. He offered to sit and talk, but I could feel the tension coming off him in waves. And – adding to the discomfort of the situation – I was able to catch phrases, sometimes whole sentences, straight out of his head. At one point he began thinking at me. I was annoyed that he would pick tonight to test and experiment with my new handicap. But then, it was Bill, always gathering information.

Both Jason's truck and Amelia's car were parked where we had left them. I knew they would be in bed at least, if not asleep, and I told Bill to go on home – I needed some time to myself. I had a feeling there would be more than one vampire patrolling the woods outside my property no matter what I'd told Eric earlier.

I knew I really should take some time to figure this new telepathy thing out, but all I really wanted to do was not think. I went into my bathroom and started gathering my bath salts and towels for a bath. That turned into an hour reorganizing all of my toiletries. And I couldn't bring myself to run the bath without giving the tub a good scrub down – and the toilet, floor and sink. After the bathroom sparkled I headed back into the bedroom to grab some comfy pajamas. Unfortunately all my good pajamas had made it over to Shreveport with most of the rest of my clothes. I found several of Eric's t-shirts folded up in my bottom drawer, but I couldn't bring myself to use them as sleep shirts like I would have any other night. They just confused and frustrated me. So, it was laundry time. I sorted what few articles I still had and made about three and a half loads. There were shorts and an old LSU medical center sweatshirt that would do for PJ's but they needed washing too so I threw them on the top of the basket and headed to the back porch.

The clock in the kitchen read four thirty a.m. My cell phone hadn't rung, and no one tried to enter through my bedroom window. I'd expected a little more protest to my request for privacy. I tried not to think. Only two hours till sunrise, and I wasn't near tired enough for sleep. I opened the back door to the enclosed porch and shoved the laundry basket out ahead of me. The light switch flipped on without my hand moving to the wall and my heart nearly beat straight through my chest.

"I do not like the way our conversation ended."

"Eric, I told you not to come here tonight." But I was a little relieved. I don't know what it would have meant to me if he'd actually left me alone. "How long have you been out there?" I indicated the woods out back of the house.

"Since you began cleaning." He stood there stiffly, reflecting me. I couldn't stand it any longer and began throwing clothes into the washer. After my detergent was added and the water began spilling into the drum, he came to stand behind me. I froze, for just a moment. He leaned in close and I could feel the coolness of him near the back of my neck. "You smell like lemons." He placed his hands on my shoulders and began steering me back into the kitchen.

"Bathroom cleaner," I said flatly.

"You have been thinking of what this could mean for us." I couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement. Either way, I knew I should have been thinking about it. I sat at the table and leaned my cheek down on its cool, smooth surface. He didn't press for an answer, but went to the fridge to grab a bottle of blood. When he opened the door, the smell of spaghetti sauce hit me as strongly as if it had been simmering on the stove. I realized I hadn't eaten anything since about nine o'clock that night, but I wasn't really hungry either. Eric popped the blood into the microwave and stood looking out the kitchen window as it heated.

"It means many things, my love." He turned to remove the blood as the microwave beeped. My stomach began to complain of being empty too long. And something smelled _amazing_. I sat up straighter. "For one thing, we now have an advantage in our movement against Las Vegas. On the other hand, it makes you one of two things to Felipe – an invaluable asset, or a target. If you are not with the King, you are against him. You already walked the knifes edge between the two, but he will be quick to carry out whichever action pleases him now, and with haste."

"Are you saying there's no hope for me? Join or die, like the 'dark side' or something?" I shook my head to clear it. Eric was being very careful with his thoughts, which I was pretty thankful for, and I was trying to be careful to stay out of them as best I could. I figured it might take me a minute to get used to filtering vampire minds the way I did human minds. After all, I'd had an entire life to master human minds, and it hadn't really clicked until I met Bill.

"I'm saying it would be wise to stay silent about such a development, and to formulate a number of plans – primary and contingent." I stood up and made my way over to the fridge to grab something that would make the grumbling in my tummy quiet. "But, you must remember that these decisions affect us both. And I _cannot_ see you put in harm's way." He sent reassurance to me over the bond, like a mental embrace. I turned around and made eye contact with him for a brief second so he would see that I understood. "Sookie, I need you to listen to me, to really think about what I propose."

It was as close as I would ever get to Eric pleading with me for something. "Ok." I braced myself for what I thought would come next.

"The most assured way to cement our union in the King's mind, would be turning you – the Master-Child relationship. I fear that option is no longer available to us." He was silent as I let that sink in. I stopped shuffling through the fridge ad turned to face him. He hadn't said that turning me was 'out of the question' or 'not preferable' or anything like that. He made it sound like an impossibility.

"What do you mean, 'no longer an option'?" He didn't say a word, but held his bottle of blood out to me. Without a thought I took it from his hand and gulped the liquid down like it was water from an oasis in a desert I'd been lost in for days.

It wasn't the flavor I was expecting. I'd had his rich blood on the back of my throat enough times to expect the sweetness and a bit of a musty, metallic taste. This was purely metallic, with a bitter aftertaste, like diet drinks compared to a real Dr. Pepper. It only bothered me later when I realized I wasn't freaked out by what I had just done.

I looked at Eric as I handed the bottle back to him. His face was stone, but I thought I saw the corners of his mouth twitch up for just a split second. It sent chills down my spine.

I heard motion upstairs and glanced at the clock – five a.m., time for Jason to leave and get ready for work. I turned back to face Eric, but he was gone. Now was as god a time as any to play a little with my new mental ability. Even if I couldn't hear his thoughts – if for some blessed reason it had all been a fluke – I would still sense the void of a vampire mind if he was somewhere nearby. I reached out for him, in the bond and with my mind, and it felt like I was picking up a cast iron skillet without hot pads. I dropped the skillet.

"Hey Sook. You up early… or ya been to sleep yet?" I had been so concentrated on Eric, I hadn't heard Jason walk up behind me.

"You headed out?" I deflected his question as I moved across the room to start a pot of coffee for him.

"Yeah. The sooner I get things going the better. This job's gone on near two months now, and I only get two days off in fourteen. That ain't real great for Amelia. She don't seem to mind, but I'd like to be able to spend a morning in bed with her. You makin' coffee? Anyway, we're nearly finished so maybe I can take a week off soon."

"Yeah, I'll get you a cup before you leave. I'm sure Amelia will be real excited about that, Jason."

"I hate to leave her up there without sayin' bye, but it's so early and she's just out cold. Tell her I'll give her a call 'round lunchtime?"

"Sure thing." I poured two cups of coffee and handed him one. Without talking we moved out to the front porch and sat together on the steps while he drank from the steaming mug. I was almost afraid to drink from mine. It still smelled good, but I wasn't sure what the blood thing meant and if I could still have human food.

"Where's your boy?" Jason asked as he stood and stretched once his cup was drained. "To early for him to go into the hidey hole. And I don't see his car…" Jason looked down at me as I stared out into the darkness. "You ok, baby sister? Not a night you haven't spent together in over a year."

"You're sweet to ask, Jason, but I'm fine. Bill drove me home and Eric came by later. He's in the bedroom." I was pretty sure by now that's exactly where he'd disappeared to. I couldn't remember if Jason knew Eric could fly so I didn't mention anything about the car not being there.

He gave me a hug, handed off his empty cup, and hopped into the cab of his truck as I turned to go back inside. Things were going a little more smoothly between me and Jason, and I was glad. He'd taken my mind off of scarier things, and given me a glimpse of my old quiet life, fixing him coffee and sending him on his way. As soon as he pulled down my drive, he took all the normal with him and panic started to overtake me.

I was halfway into the living room when Eric appeared in front of me. I couldn't help myself. I let go and collapsed into his arms, tears spilling over my cheeks. Eric always hated it when I cried.


	21. Do You Believe In What You See?

A/N: Back to Tyler this time. Media to mention - _Sunshine _is the name of the movie in the chapter (released in July 2007), lyrics from Joni Mitchel's _From Both Sides Now_ are referred to briefly, and the song at the end of the chapter is _The Only Living Boy In New York _by Simon and Garfunkle. Music that influenced me during the writing process was The Temper Trap's album _Conditions _(mainly _Rest_ and _Soldier On_) and Zero 7's _The waiting Line _(from which the title comes). Please enjoy and feel encouraged to comment.

-Yve

***

My life was changing. I was twenty-one – as of May second. My sister had moved out and I was living with Abel. I was first shift manager at The Fly Leaf – which helped me buy my new, old car. I was growing up. And I had found the answer to stopping the dreams. Oblivion.

After work I would gather up my things, head out to my '98 Celica and drive to the grocery store a few blocks from the apartment. I'd pick up something for dinner – usually some of the prepared soup or sushi or a grilled chicken wrap from the café. Next to the grocers was a Spec's liquor. That was the gateway to a dreamless night.

I drank vodka mixed with just about any kind of juice, a few bottles of wine a week, and if I was being cheap, sometimes Smirnoff Ice. If I had my way, it would be scotch everyday, but that was getting to be an expensive habit. Vodka was middle of the road, and if I was worried about Abel noticing, it was easy to pour into an Evian bottle.

It was never really something I wanted to start doing, but once I found the magic potion, the nighttime hours passed me up in a blur. Unfortunately, if I wasn't _relaxed_ enough the dreams would come anyway, and if I was _too relaxed_ they became dark and violent and nothing could remove the memory of them for days to come.

I started drinking coffee like crazy and ended up on edge at work most days. But then, I'd been on edge as long as my nights had been continually interrupted.

Tonight I was going out with Abel and a friend of his from one of his courses. We were going to meet at the theater across from the shop after my shift ended, then grab a bite to eat and maybe go play some pool. I was starting to feel a little saner and any excuse to get away from the apartment and break routine sounded like a good idea to me.

It was late July – not even the hottest part of the year – and already the temperatures were stagnating around ninety-nine degrees. I had left the house this morning in a pair of relaxed jeans with the bottoms rolled up past my ankles and a dark green wife beater. I had grabbed a light cardigan before heading out, in case it was cold in the theater (or a stuffy customer decided to complain about my bare arms – while unlikely at FL, it happened every once in a while).

I was placing the last special order of the shift and gathering up some inventory counts to set on Austin's desk in _her_ new office when Abel texted to tell me they were running late. I could go ahead and find a seat if I wanted to, just save two extras for them. I had to wait for Austin to get there anyway, so I went back to the front and purchased the tickets from the computer.

The shop was dead for the moment so I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. I heard the door open and I sat up a bit straighter, "Welcome to Fly Leaf. Let me know if I can help you." I reached for my coffee on the edge of the counter – which was cold by now – and knocked over the cup in horror.

The woman – the blonde with the creepy smile from my dreams – was standing in front of me. The smile was the same, her hair was longer, she looked healthier and more beautiful than I had ever seen her, and her face was turning to ash. "Tyler." I stood and pushed the chair back, slamming it into the window behind me.

And she was gone. And there was coffee dripping down the front of the counter, pooling on the floor.

And that's when Austin walked in.

"What the hell, Ty? Get some paper towels or something!" She tossed her bag behind the counter and began moving a stack of new novels away from the spreading pool of liquid.

"Sorry." It was all the speech I could manage at the moment. I hadn't been prepared for what I had seen and at the same time I knew beyond a reckoning it was real. I cleaned up the spill, said my goodbyes, clocked out and hurried across the street to the theater.

I was shaking as I pulled the tickets out of the ticket machine outside. There was still twenty minutes till the showing started and I needed to calm down. I headed back down the stairs to the sidewalk and fished around in my purse for a cigarette (another habit I'd taken up with the drinking).

I put the little brown cylinder between my lips and puffed as I held the lighter to it's end. Holding my hand out in front of me, I exhaled the sweet clove smoke and watched the cigarette trembling in my fingers. I had goose bumps all up and down my arms even though it was warm enough for a sweat. I tensed all of the muscles in my right arm, willing my hand to hold still. The smoke began swirling up above my head and into the sky, and for a moment I let go and let my mind float away with it.

_So many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way. I've looked at clouds from both sides now…_

I shook my head to remove the phantom words. There was no one singing, no music playing. It was just in my head. My fucked up little brain.

I could see Abel walking toward me from the parking garage behind the theater and flicked what remained of my cigarette into the street. No chance for a mint or perfume now. Oh well. When I looked back in his direction, I noticed the girl gazing up at him, rather than where she walked. Oh, what luck. This must be his friend from school.

He came straight over and draped an arm around my shoulders. "Ty, this is Emily."

"Huh-Hi." It was the best I could manage. I was way more disturbed by Emily's presence than I had any right to be. She beamed back at me brilliantly. She was about five feet tall, with adorable, soft, dirty blonde curls cut short around her shoulders, and bright blue eyes. She also had a D-cup.

I realized I was staring and turned toward the stairs to the theater entrance. Shoving my hand in my pocket, I retrieved the tickets and handed two to Abel. "Let's find some seats."

I found I was gripping the armrest to try to stay in my seat. For some reason I felt like my head was about to spin clear off of my body. The theater was cooled to a pleasant sixty-eight degrees for the other moviegoers, but I was burning up, fanning myself with a piece of paper I'd located in my bag.

_Snap out of it!_ I felt like the person behind me had leaned forward and screamed into my ear, but when I turned around there was no one there for two rows back. I sank deeper into my seat and tried desperately to concentrate on the movie.

"_It takes eight minutes for light to travel from Sun to Earth. All you have to do is look for a little extra brightness in the sky. So if you wake up one morning and it's a particularly beautiful day, you'll know we made it."_

We headed to Guerrero's after the movie, and I was fidgety through the entire meal. I was starving for some chorizo and rice taquitos, but when they brought the plate I was struggling to keep down the first few bites. Of course, Emily was a vegetarian, and she convinced Abel to eat a vegetarian meal too. That alone, was enough to make me want to vomit. The conversation was slow and terrible, and halfway through diner I had decided to forgo the pool hall in favor of the couch and a movie at home. Then my drink came.

It took the edge off, but I would definitely be needing more. I realized it had been nearly twenty-four hours since I had my last drink and passed out downstairs last night. I suppose I could head over to the pool hall with them. Show this little girl how to shoot. I had a feeling she'd never played the game in her life.

We paid the bill and headed out to Abel's car and that was the last thing I could remember.

The blinding headache and nausea came next. Somehow, when I opened my eyes, I was on the floor of my little bathroom in the apartment. I turned my head to the side and threw up in the bathtub – apparently not for the first time. "Uhhhg. Fuh…"

"A little more conscious?" It was Abel. I hadn't seen him leaned up against the counter earlier. Now I noticed his arm outstretched, a wet washcloth in hand. I accepted it gratefully.

"Where is Emily?" I asked, a little too harshly.

"She took a cab home from Slick Willie's – after you called her an obliviously obnoxious blonde twit." He flashed a gruesome smile. I didn't even remember going to Slick Willie's instead of Barney's, let alone insulting someone. Not just someone, I remembered, Abel's date. Fuck.

"I didn't!? Oh, Abe… Oh." I turned back to the tub and emptied my stomach once more. "Sorry. For that and for Emily." Abel shook his head and sat down on the floor next to me.

"You think you're through for a while?"

I certainly hoped so. I hadn't eaten much today. He was talking about me being sick, right? I nodded anyway. He sighed.

"Emily's been bugging me for a date for months. She's adorable. And smart – you were wrong when you said she's a twit. She just plays the dumb blonde, I don't know, cause she thinks people like that? But she's a little too perfect for me. Not my type."

He stood up then and turned the shower on, using the handheld to rinse the waste down the drain. Sweet guy, cleaning up after me. I leaned my head back against the cool wall.

"What's your type?" He didn't answer. After a while I heard the shower running steady. Then I felt his hands around my waist encouraging me to stand. I took control of myself as best I could to help him out. When I opened my eyes, his shirt and jeans were on the bathroom floor and he was standing in front of me in his boxers. There was steam pouring out of the shower from behind the curtain, and a sweet smell of eucalyptus in the room. "Hi." I swallowed hard, wondering if this was one of my dreams, soon to turn into a warped nightmare.

"Hi," he answered back. His hands brushed up my arms to my neck, gently pulling my hair back behind my shoulders. Then he brought them back down to my waist where they began unbuttoning my jeans. I don't know why, but I let them. I watched in horror and fascination as he slid my jeans and panties to the floor, then moved his hands up to pull my shirt off over my head. I was beginning to get very dizzy and I couldn't tell if it was the remnants of the alcohol or something else. Neither would have surprised me.

Once I was undressed he pushed his boxers down over his hips and took my hands to help me into the tub. I closed my eyes and let the warm water wash over me. It was a bizarre and amazing feeling. I let the water run into my mouth and rinsed out the foul taste from before. Still operating under the assumption this was a dream, I turned around and opened my eyes, expecting to be alone in the shower.

I wasn't alone.

He placed both hands on my waist and led me around to switch places with him. I was mesmerized as the water ran down his body in front of me. He reached around me for the shampoo and I watched him lather his hair. I watched him take my soap in his and wash his body. I watched him rinse off. The warmth from the steam and the heat outside kept me from shivering.

And I watched as he reached to pull me close to him. He repeated the process of cleansing, this time with his hands moving all over my body. They were soft, but confident. He took the handheld and rinsed the soap and shampoo away before placing it back on the shower wall. Then he pulled me to him once more, and finally, softly parted my lips with his.

We stood under the running water for a few moments after that first kiss, and then he guided me out of the shower and into his bedroom.

"Is… this ok?" It was the first thing he had said since he started undressing me. I tried not to giggle, and failed.

"Um. Yes." I felt a smile spread across my face. Hadn't we been staring at each other's naked bodies for the past fifteen minutes without protest? Apparently that was the right thing to say. He pulled me up against his chest and pressed his mouth hard against mine, tangling his hands in my wet hair.

We made it to the bed and collapsed in a tangle of limbs, laughing between kisses and I could feel his erection pressing against my abdomen. He pulled his face back from mine and brushed wet strands of hair out of my eyes. I held my breath and closed my eyes.

His mouth found mine again, but less frenzied this time. This kiss was deep and long, his tongue exploring my mouth. He moved his hand slowly down my side, up over my hip and between my legs. I gasped and he pulled away slightly. "So wet," he said, his lips moving against mine. He resumed his business with fingers and tongue, and I was lost in the feeling of him against me, and the vague concept that this would complicate things.

Without warning he removed his fingers and he was inside me. We both moaned at the relief of it. I relaxed beneath him and he began to move rhythmically, deep and slow. His face remained inches above mine and our lips began to meet with every few thrusts. I could feel the pressure building and I could feel him holding back, increasing his pace ever so slightly. I angled my hips up to meet his and he came, shaking with the intensity of it.

He lifted gently off of me and walked into the closet to grab a towel. After we had cleaned up he turned some music on at his desk and came to crawl under the old blue and grey striped coverlet with me. I curled into him as he combed through my damp hair with his fingers.

"Why did you ask me to move in with you?"

I had been humming along to _The Only Living Boy in New York_ and stopped to think about it. Had I known on some level what would happen tonight? A deeper part of my consciousness was screaming, trying to say _yes_, but I wouldn't listen. Not now. I wouldn't ruin this.

"I don't know." I closed my eyes and floated away in the warmth of the body behind me, and the music filling the room.

_Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where, And we don't know where._


	22. Watch You Change

A/N: What, what? Sookie drinking Trueblood? A little insight for you, my friends. More to come soon.

***

It wasn't something I had to do, breathing, but it set off a wave of panic when I realized it wasn't an option. I inhaled without thinking and immediately regretted it. A common misconception about vampires is that they don't feel pain. I remembered making the same assumption before I actually knew any vampires. I'd known Bill and Eric had experienced physical pain – after Rhodes, and the fairy war, especially. Now that I was partially undead, I was learning firsthand.

I gulped down a lungful of fire and ash before I thought to stop my respiration (after a lifetime of breathing it's a hard habit to kick). Once I had recovered from the burning sensation in my chest, I sent my mind out in search of anyone that could be helped. That's when the beam came down on my head.

***

Pam was driving my car – my new, incredibly excessive Charger – at barely legal speed down the highway toward Eastwood. There was a meeting going on at Fangtasia that Eric insisted I stay clear of. He told Pam to occupy me, though I figured she was playing part bodyguard, part jailer. We were headed to a little industrial park just out past Barksdale Airforce Base. The mysterious, small and somewhat creepy Dr. Ludwig had a 'clinic' of sorts there. Eric wanted me to go, ask questions and learn a little more about what had happened to me. I had to admit I would feel a whole lot better when I knew more about what was going on.

"Pam, could you slow down? I'm not exactly sure I'm as indestructible as you." I closed my eyes as she darted from the left lane to the right, weaving around another vehicle that was already traveling about eighty miles per hour.

"Really, Sookie, you should begin to embrace the lifestyle." Pam was smirking her finest as she gunned the accelerator, leaving the other car in the dust. "Not the killing and violence if it bothers you all that much, but at least take joy in the sensory experience."

I cringed. The only sensation I was currently feeling was nausea. I was sure I'd be sick as soon as the car stopped outside the little office building. Holding my head, I carefully stepped out of the car and onto solid, stationary ground. Speed was one thing I was pretty sure I would _not_ become a fan of, unlike blood.

Pam swept around the front end of the car and grabbed my wrist, practically dragging me into the building. Just through the door there was a typical medical office setting – maybe half a dozen chairs, a coffee table with outdated magazines, a little TV tuned to the local news, and a reception desk. Other than me and Pam, the room was empty. I looked around for signs of Dr. Ludwig but saw none. Seconds later a door opened from behind the desk and a strikingly beautiful young girl stepped out. She wore dark purple scrub pants and a loose grey t-shirt with a logo on the left breast. She looked young, not twenty yet, and very perky. Dark brown and _teal_ hair set off her incredibly pale skin. Her eyes were the same shade of teal and I wondered for a minute if it was the effects of contacts and hair dye, or if she was a member of the community Dr. Ludwig catered to.

"Miss Stackhouse? Miss Ravenscroft," she nodded at Pam. "Dr. Ludwig will be just a few minutes. Follow me to her office." She turned back to the door and led us down a short hallway to a room that might resemble an office if it were cleaner. There were books and papers strewn everywhere, and dirty dishes stacked on top of the desk. The girl began to remove the bowls and utensils from the desk. "Can I bring you ladies a blood? We have O positive." Pam wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

The girl returned a few minutes later and took a seat in one of the chairs behind the desk. Pam and I were sitting on the couch (what little of it wasn't covered with papers). I tapped my foot nervously on the floor. "Just a little while longer," She said with a smile. "She's just stitching up an Efryte in the exam room. Well, he's a quarter 'effy' really. If he was pure he wouldn't need stitching." She laughed softly to herself. I decided to put that off for now and ask Eric or Pam about Efrytes later.

"I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't get your name." I leaned forward a little and smiled to break the ice. The girl just smiled brightly and a little unnervingly back at me.

"This is Dr. Ludwig's apprentice, Sookie." Pam answered for her. "You can call her Ox." I got the feeling I was right in assuming she was a member of the Supe community.

At that point, the door opened once more to let Dr. Ludwig in.

"Hello, little girl. It's been a while, though I was sure you couldn't manage to stay away from trouble for too long. Seems I was right."

"Nice to see you too, Doctor."

"Yes. Very nice." She stood in the doorway, staring me down like I was some kind of long prized specimen. I was starting to get fidgety and uncomfortable. Pam came to my rescue – sort of.

"I can see you drooling, Doctor, so I assume you're well interested. Shall we move to the exam room or will your office suffice?" That Pam. Always straight to the point.

"Discussion is all that's necessary for the most part tonight. Tell me, girl, what differences or adjustments have you been experiencing? And leave nothing out, however trivial it may seem."

I began with the most obvious things and wracked my brain to fill in the gaps with anything out of the ordinary. It was hard to concentrate with the little woman staring at me, and Ox and Pam hanging on my every word. I really felt like a science expirament, and truthfully, I guess I was.

"I've done a considerable amount of research in the few weeks since your vampire contacted me." She reached back and took the pad that Ox had been scribbling on while I was talking. "It seems we are dealing with a few too many variables for my liking, but to the best of my knowledge… Yes. That would make sense. You were taking diasihdoxomine for the cancer treatment. Its properties could prove useful if the fae still inhabited this plane in greater numbers, unfortunately they…"

"Wait. What about the fairies?" It was beginning to click in my brain now. The mystery drug, the miracle cure that Eric found out of nowhere. None of the doctors was familiar with it, though after a little convincing from Eric they were more than happy to add it to my treatment regimen.

"Yes, the fae drug."

Pam reached her hand out in a very un-vampire-like gesture and laid it on my shoulder. I shrugged her off. I was primed to explode, but Dr. Ludwig kept talking, and my curiosity got the best of me. For now.

"No doubt your fairy heritage worked in your favor in addition to the drug to get rid of those nasty little tumors. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – you were hell bent on killing yourself anyway. You know long-term blood exchange can prove disastrous for the human involved, you silly girl! No mater. It's a moot point now." She shuffled through more papers for a minute and I sat there in shocked silence. I hardly had time to formulate a response before she started talking again. "You aren't completely vampiric, I don't think. But you are far from human, my dear. A new breed. A vampire-fae hybrid. Very interesting." The creepy woman couldn't have smiled wider. It sent chills down my back – a feeling I was getting used to lately.

Suddenly the room was very hot and small, and I couldn't really breath properly. I reached my hand out for something to hold onto and I groped Pam by mistake.

"Sookie?"

I came to in the car, with Pam driving at a somewhat normal speed – thank God – back towards Shreveport. She was on her phone when I began the daunting task of opening my eyes. I was still dizzy and the idea of focusing on anything was not something I wanted to do.

"She is angry, you know. She did not harm herself, only fainted. Your 'nos-fairy-atu' retains some of her human frailty after all. And that is why I am far away from you right now. Well, we must call her something. Fifteen minutes out. Fangtasia or… Yes, Master." Pam clicked her phone shut and turned to look at me. "Sookie, I know you are conscious."

"Watch the road, Pam."

"You must be willing to forgive him. Surely you still have the capacity for that." I didn't answer her. "There are reasons. It is not my place, but… you can see why you must never be parted from him. He took any lengths necessary."

"He lied to me, Pam."

"Yes, you spiteful, silly girl. He lied. And you would be no more than a lifeless human husk now if he hadn't."

She was quiet for the rest of the ride, and I pretended to fall back to sleep. It was infuriating, but Pam was right. A little while later she pulled the car up outside Eric's home. I grabbed my purse and got out of the vehicle, pausing as I shut the door. Pam walked around the car and placed a kiss on either of my cheeks.

"You are my sister now, Sookie, dear. No mater how you irritate, I cannot stay angry with you." It was such a sweet, unexpected gesture, I wasn't sure what to do. Pam stepped back and turned away from me toward the trees surrounding the house.

"Pam, your car's at your house. How will you get home?"

She turned back and smiled, leaning down to remove her shoes one at a time. "It looks like a pleasant night for a run." She winked, and in a flash she was gone. And I stood alone outside the secluded house.

_Now or never, Stackhouse. _I gathered my resolve, undetermined about my intentions for the impending conversation, and walked through the door.

***

I felt their presences twenty, fifteen, and five miles from the house. Though rather than becoming clearer with proximity, Sookie's connection to me remained obscured. I couldn't pinpoint her emotions as I was used to, though I felt her nearness like I never had. I had noticed the change in the bond taking place slowly over the past month or so, and I was not pleased.

She remained outside the house for a few minutes, speaking with Pam. I found myself pacing back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom, passing through the living room every few moments and glancing out the front window. I was not used to being anxious and unprepared where she was concerned, and I realized that I had used our bond as a crutch up to this point, rather than approaching things head on as I used to.

I had given it considerable thought after speaking with Pam. I could not approach this as I had her cancer diagnosis. That was something neither one of us – or anyone, for that matter – had been pleased with, to say the very least. While Sookie would be feeling as unsure and vulnerable about her future now as then, I couldn't say I was opposed to what was happening. I only hoped I could help her embrace what she was becoming.

She opened the door as I was on my way back through the living room with a bottle of blood. She stood in the entrance, softly closing the door behind her, and I remained frozen across the room.

"Lover," I began speaking to her, but she held up a delicate hand to silence me.

"No. Not now. I need to get something off my chest before we can talk like rational adults." She took a deep breath, one of the last breath's she would consciously take, and shook her head. "You lying bastard." It was almost awe-inspiring, the controlled rage she had delivered, when compared with her once sophomoric outbursts. No crying or histrionics. She stood, looked me in the eye, and calmly declared her opinion. "How can you ever expect this – whatever this is," she waved her hand between herself and I to illustrate, " – to work when you keep lying to me?"

She was speaking of the fae pharmaceutical. "Would you have complied willingly if I had told you the origins?" I suppressed a surge of irritation. _If not for me, you would be dead many times over_.

"That's not the point, you know. Honesty is what I want. It's what I deserve, Eric."

"It is the point that you choose to focus on, however moot. The drug should be the furthest thing from your concern." The corners of her mouth turned down into an even deeper frown, though I knew she was concentrating on what I had to say. "I know that I have made mistakes, and I have hurt you, but Sookie, you need me now, perhaps more than you ever have. And I want to make it right. You cannot deny how I love you." It was not what she wanted to hear, though she knew I was right.

"That's why I'm not walking away right now." She slumped her shoulders and began making her way further into the room. As she said those words I began to wonder whether or not she could if she wanted to. Unconventional was a mild way of describing her turning. I had my doubts about the control I should posses over her as her maker, though I had no intentions of discussing it with her.

I met her in the center of the room and she fell into my arms, tired, confused, and awaiting reassurance. It was my job to guide her. "We have much to talk of, Dear One."


	23. Love Lost

A/N: This was a hard one. The time line works in reverse so you end at the beginning of a chain of events (that wasn't the hard part). If you'd like to listen to or read the lyrics, there is a list of songs for this chapter. It may help you better understand the note in the middle of the piece.

Last Goodbye by Jeff Buckley  
Life In Rain by Remy Zero  
Answer by Sarah Mclachlan  
Soul Meets Body by Death Cab For Cutie  
and Candle Burn by Dishwalla.

-Yve

***

I looked down at myself in the half-light of the backyard. Abel had picked out my clothes two days ago. He practically had to dress me tonight. I was wearing a loose grey sleeveless dress with a black belt. I held my shoes in my left hand. I tried to concentrate on the tiny details. No necklace, no rings. I reached my hand up to my ears and felt the simple silver studs there. My hair was smoothed back into a halfway tidy ponytail. Not much more to focus on about myself.

The blonde couple stood in front of me still. The woman – the visitor from my dreams – had a look of empathy on her face. Maybe she had done this before. She wore black slacks and a black satin camisole tucked in at her waist. Her hair was long and blowing freely in the Texas breeze. The man – the vampire – wasn't looking at me, or at anyone else, but over at Austin. He wore a light grey suit with a black dress shirt. He would have stood out from the crowd no matter what he was wearing. I was out of options as far as attire so I moved on to something else.

There were sixty-eight candles flickering around the yard. There were a dozen lanterns. Some people held glasses of tea, some bottles of beer, some cups of coffee. Two people were smoking. Twelve were crying. No one smiled.

Abel came to stand behind me. He leaned around my shoulder and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. I didn't turn. I sighed and closed my eyes, but crying was beyond my comprehension and my body refused to cooperate. I felt a cold hand on my arm. I knew she was touching me. I opened my eyes to confirm it and she flinched, pulling her hand back.

I turned my back on them all – it was time to leave this fucked up party – and walked across the lawn and the concrete drive to my car parked out among all the rest.

***

I was curled up on the sofa in the den of the big house. Abel was standing across the room – between me and the doorway to Austin's bedroom. We were sorting through her things, boxing them up. I use the term 'we' loosely. I wasn't thinking about sorting or the funeral I was supposed to be planning. I was thinking about the piece of paper crumpled up in my jeans pocket.

The police let me keep a copy, telling me to call when I figured out what it meant. They were ninety-nine percent sure she had taken her own life. I was absolutely certain. And I was angry.

Abel was asking me a question. I didn't bother trying to pay attention. I stared out the window at her car – now my car. I kept waiting for this one, this dream, to end.

It was amazing how someone could function without sleep, without food, when those things stopped being priorities – or when you just stopped caring.

The not had been addressed to me. I had it memorized down to the cryptic annotations that kept puzzling the police. I imagined the officer laughing when I would call to tell him what they really meant. She was citing her work – giving credit to those she had taken quotes from. They were song lyrics and the initials scribbled next to every few lines stood for the artist or band name.

_Tyler, _

_Just hear this and then I'll go (JB)_

_This is our last goodbye (JB)_

_And It feels good to know you (RZ)_

_Cast me gently into morning (SM)_

_So (I) may have a chance of finding a place _

_Where (I'm) far more suited than here (DCFC)_

_Take me over when I'm gone_

_Take me over, make me strong (DW)_

_And when it's cold as rain outside, _

_Well so am I (RZ)_

_Love you_

I should probably try to sleep. It had been almost a week, and just as long since I'd had a drink. I told myself I was 'making up for lost sobriety'. I told myself I wouldn't touch another drop of alcohol. I told myself I would go crazy without it, but that was my penance for not being there. I should have been her lifeboat.

I turned my head to look at Abel. He was crouching next to the couch now, trying to get my attention. "I said I found her iPod. We should pick a few of her songs to play at the funeral."

"It's already taken care of." It was the last thing she had done for me.

***

I was lying on the bed next to Eric. It was becoming more and more difficult to stay awake in the daytime, but I still woke up a few minutes before him each night. We had discovered a lot of things in the past six weeks. I could eat food, and still really enjoyed eating, but I was starting to crave blood like nobody's business. I could still hear human minds clearly, along with the added burden of the vampires'. With some concentration I could stop my heart and respiration without any nasty side effects like dying. I could heal quickly too. Not as quickly as a vampire, but still, it was a major plus considering my track record. I hadn't messed with fire, because as far as I was concerned, fire was bad for me before I was changed, and it certainly wasn't a friend of any vamps.

Things were still on shaky ground between me and Eric, but for the most part we were doing ok. I turned on my side to watch him 'asleep' next to me. He didn't make any cute sleeping noises or even snore. I had been used to that for a while now, but it made me wonder if I was really sleeping when I was 'asleep'. I hadn't dreamt in months, come to think of it.

Eric was awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed, as soon as the last rays of the sunset sank below the horizon. He was upset that I had left before he'd woken, and I knew why. I wasn't in the mood for foreplay tonight. I'd had a creeping feeling in the pit of my stomach since I opened my eyes, so I left the bedroom for the kitchen. I thought a cup of tea might settle it.

Eric walked into the kitchen wearing his soft cotton pajama pants. I smiled and met him at the little table with a bottle of blood. We sat a across from each other supping our respective drinks. It hit me then that this was probably as close as I would ever get to the 'normal family life' I'd once dreamed of. I thought of Mama and Daddy drinking coffee in the morning while Jason fed his instant oatmeal to the cat. Then I remembered the first morning I had met Alcide – moving around the kitchen in sync, preparing breakfast – and wanting that to be my future. This was some kind of version of that, and I realized, while I was a little sad about the vast differences, I was happy that I had someone I could be myself with. And he didn't care. Oh, I pissed him off royally ninety percent of the time, but he loved me anyway.

I was smiling down into my tea cup, holding Eric's hand across the tabletop, when his phone began ringing. He let go to answer it and the sick, creepy feeling took me over again.

"Bill. We have things to deal with. That is unfortunate. Give my sincere apologies to Stella. When will you be leaving? And returning? Let me know if there is something… Yes. I will." Eric closed his phone and reached for my hand again.

"Stella must return to Houston unexpectedly and Bill will travel with her. A human woman living in her home – her friend and manager of the store in Engelwood – has been found dead."

"Oh, Stella…" I knew instantly, this was the reason I'd been creeped. There was some reason it was important to me.

"It falls, unfortunately, in conjunction with our farewell to Felipe. Bill will leave immediately after. I need him with me to impress upon the king and Sandy, Victor's greed and inability to be trusted." He looked tired. Felipe had been occupying Shreveport for the past month and a half. Eric had finally chosen to disclose my new status as a 'recently turned' vampire only a few weeks ago. It was better that he told the king before rumor and speculation got to him. The specifics of how I was turned would be taken to the proverbial grave, though, as far as Eric was concerned.

And now I had to tell him about this weird feeling. And I didn't even know what it meant. But I was going to Houston with Bill – with or without Eric.

***

Tyler was supposed to be getting off of work in fifteen minutes. I'd called John and Shelly to come take over for the rest of the night, then we would close up the shop tomorrow, maybe for a couple of days.

I was still pretty dizzy and pale from the last few hours at the house. The police offered to notify Tyler, but it shouldn't be that way. She shouldn't have to hear anything like this from a stranger. She shouldn't have to hear this period.

I parked in the garage behind the theater and walked across the street to the shop. I could see Corgan sitting just inside the window. Ty had started taking him to work with her when Austin moved out, so he wouldn't be alone in the apartment all day. She would need him here for this too. He stood and began whining as I got closer to the door. I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Hey. What's up? You working late shift tonight?" She was leaning over a shipment behind the counter, marking items off of the master list. I froze when I heard her voice. I realized I had absolutely no idea what to tell her. I turned around and reached for the open sign on the front door, flipping it over. We were closed for the moment.

I turned back to see her staring at me, a worried look on her face. "What's up?" she asked again.

"Lets go into the office."

"No. What's going on, Abel?" She sounded anxious now. I was doing a great job.

"I need to take you home." I walked around the counter and wrapped my arms around her. She was already shaking.

"What's wrong? Is Aus ok? What happened?" I held her tighter as she began to cry. She had gone through this before. I could feel her letting go. She knew what was coming. "She's hurt. She's not ok… is she? Where is she? How bad is it? Let me get my purse, and we'll go." She began to push away, but I wouldn't let her. She was crying harder now, struggling for breath.

"Tyler, Tyler. Look at me," She pulled back and was instantly silent as she stared into my eyes. "Listen to me. I love you." She needed to hear it. It wouldn't make the pain any less, but she needed it all the same. I took another deep breath. "Tyler, she's gone."

She started slowly shaking her head. I nodded in silence and tried to pull her to me again, but she went limp and collapsed to the floor on her knees. Then she began to scream.


	24. Daylight Robbery

A/N: There are only about five chapters to go before completion. So soak it up while you can. I'll take a break after, but I'll be back before long. Listen to _Life In Rain_ by Remy Zero during the funeral scene, _Hollow_ by Remmy Zero during the 'pseudo-sex scene' and _I don't Love You_ by MCR during the last 'fight'. Hate me if you want to, but it makes sense for the story.

Love to all. Enjoy

~Y

***

We traveled to the Hooks Airport, just south of Engelwood, in a small private plane that I had procured for us. I wasn't happy about the prospect of leaving so soon after my dealings with Felipe. His interest had been peeked by Sookie's transformation. To add to my growing discomfort about the Nevada Dynasty, Felipe had been progressively loosening Victor's leash. He was apparently adopting the philosophy that everyone deserved a second chance – "After all, Sheriff, is that not what has been granted we beings upon our turning? We, as vampires have the ultimate of second chances". It was nauseating.

Sookie had insisted on traveling back to Texas with Stella and Bill and she was recalcitrant in her resolve. I found a fortuitous opportunity to determine the extent of my influence or control over her will.

"Are you trying to tell me where I can and can't go, Northman? And I'm supposed to, what, 'heel'?" She laughed derisively at the idea. She had used my own terminology from the service corridor in Rhodes, where I had taken my role in her life as 'the lesser of two evils'.

She was flippant and distant until the plane put down its landing gear at the airport in Spring. Bill would be staying with Stella at her home, but due to the lack of light safe rooms, Sookie and I returned to the Hotel Avia.

I hoped that her mood would improve before we were on our way back to Louisiana, but I was not optimistic. It was a funeral we had come to attend, and my Dear One had had too many brushes with mortality for my liking. The evening after we arrived, she stood in front of the hotel vanity, applying her signature minimalist make up. I passed her on my way to the closet to retrieve my suit from our hanging garment bag. I could feel the vibrations of anxiety and stress rippling out into the room.

"I know you don't think it's important, Eric, but I just know I have to be there tonight." She spoke to my reflection in the mirror.

"For Stella?"

"I don't think there's much comfort I can offer her. She's seen people come and go, and God willing, she's gonna be around for a while. No. I'm not sure why, but this is where I'm supposed to be right now. I haven't felt this strongly about something since…" She was thinking about Rhodes and the calling she had to save me. On some level, I had believed it was because of our newly created bond that she had felt such urgency. I was beginning to see much more clearly that her motivations had been greatly out of the goodness of her heart.

We were dressed and on our way to Stella's residence within the hour. The setting was particularly somber. There were folding chairs and several more permanent seating groups set up around the back yard. I spotted Bill and lead Sookie over to convene with him.

"Stella is just inside. She is reviewing schedules and other minor details regarding the shop. I think she will not come out until the service begins." Bill looked well, but concerned. It was good to see him worry about someone other than Sookie. We stood toward the back of the yard, near the rear entrance to the house, speaking about how long I could expect Bill to remain here, etc. Sookie accepted a glass of tea from one of the young guests, then settled her gaze on a young woman standing near the back gate.

She held her shoes in her hand and had an absent look on her face.

"I'll be back in just a second." Sookie set off in her direction, leaving Bill and I in her wake. We both quickly rectified that.

"Excuse me," Sookie said to the young woman, in her pleasant southern lilt. The woman turned her head but did not respond. She bore a strong resemblance to the framed photograph on the table placed near the coffin. The both had pale skin and similar eyes, brown hair – though this girl's was a shade darker. They shared the same parents without question. This was the sister of the dead girl. "I believe we've met before, Miss." Sookie tried again without success. "My name's Sookie."

Suddenly Bill turned to face the epicenter of the gathering. Stella had emerged from the house, and was standing near the photograph.

"I believe I'm needed elsewhere. If you'll excuse me, ma'am." He nodded to the young woman and took his leave of us. She watched him walk across the yard to Stella and settled her gaze there momentarily. A man made his way through the crowd and came to stand behind the sister, offering some small bit of comfort, I could tell, as her shoulders relaxed slightly.

"She was your sister?" Sookie asked. The man – boy really, no older than twenty – leaned around to kiss his lover's cheek. She closed her eyes tightly, as if this were a dream that might all dissipate if she concentrated hard enough. "I'm so sorry," Sookie whispered, as she reached her hand out in a comforting gesture. The sister opened her eyes and Sookie immediately pulled her hand back, as if she had been burned.

The woman then turned and walked, barefoot, across the lawn and down the driveway.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Sookie asked the young man.

"Tyler isn't the kind of girl who likes to be rescued. Sometimes she just needs to be by herself for a few minutes. Are you friends of Stella's? From Louisiana?"

"Yes, I am Sheriff of the area she resides in there. This is my – Miss Stackhouse." My bonded? My mate? My child? Any one and none of these truly applied.

"I'm Abel. Stella is my Great Aunt. I live here with Ty." Just then music began playing softly and people began quieting down. The young man excused himself and proceeded to the front of the crowd to speak a few words before the next song began. Several other people came forward and more music was played. It was quite an intimate, informal ceremony, and it reminded me of another service I had once attended. Sookie and I said our farewells to Bill and Stella and promised to see them once more before heading home. Sookie located Abel and gave him a message for his lover when she returned. We climbed into the rented prius and drove off toward the hotel.

I held the towel up for her as she stepped out of the tub. Steam was rising from her smooth skin and I longed to be pressed up against it. All in good time. "Why did you pull away from her? At the service. You looked pained." She shivered slightly in response.

"She burned me."

"All humans will seem especially warm to you now." She shook her head before I was finished.

"No. Eric, she was hot as hellfire. She scalded the shit out of me." Sookie held her left hand out to me, palm up. I could see the blisters starting to callous before my eyes, the redness still present. "I don't think she knew what was happening. I don't think she even felt it." She stepped away with the towel wrapped around her and collapsed onto the bed on her stomach.

"Do you feel you were right? You have come here and now you can return." I was anxious to be home. I would gladly throw the bags in the rental car and drive all night if it would settle my mind.

"Don't know. She's why I came here, all right. I feel like I need to get to know her." I clenched my jaw and began counting in my head. _One, two, three, four_. "But she doesn't need me in the middle of everything right now. I know that for sure." I relaxed slightly, hoping beyond reasonability that it had been my desire that led her to give up her pursuit for the time being.

The thought of driving all night and putting Texas, Bill, and Sookie's unease behind us was sounding better and better. I reached and pulled the towel away from her body. "There is enough time still to make it home and taste you once before the sun rises." She turned and leaned forward on her elbow.

"Why not taste me now? All night." Her smile in that moment was bewitching. But I was nothing if not firm in my resolve. I shook my head and took brief pleasure in the pout that spread across her soft features.

"This place abrades me." I let my frustration at being drawn from my home and business at such a time seep into my voice. I had made many concessions for her. She could do the same.

"Alrighty, _Mr_. Northman. I can see how antsy you are. Lets pack and stop by Stella's to tell Bill we're goin'." I fished around in my pocket and hit Bill's speed dial on my phone. I began shoving clothing and other items into the large suitcase and indicated that Sookie should look after the garment bag as I was waiting for him to answer. She glared at me but went about her business of packing.

"Eric." Bill sounded strained, as though he had other things to be dealing with.

"Yes. My apologies but we will be heading back to Shreveport tonight. Give my apologies to Stella as well."

"Sookie will want to tell her goodbye. I'm sure you're pleased to be going home."

"Yes, well, time is short. We have just under seven hours till daylight. Perhaps they can speak more when Stella returns." Sookie shot an icy glance my way. I held up a hand to stop her from beginning another lengthy and exhausting discussion while I was on the phone. "If there is anything she requires, let me know and perhaps I can be of some assistance." I closed the phone and zipped up the full suitcase. I turned to Sookie, where she was standing in front of the closet with a hanger and my suit coat in her hands. "There is no point arguing. We really must be leaving if we are going to beat the day."

Sookie had been fairly quiet the entire drive. She had brought along several crime novels and was completing a few chapters of each at a time. During the last hour she reached out and rested her hand on mine over the gearshift. It was enough. She would be over her frustrations by the time we pulled into the drive.

We arrived at the house a little after five-forty in the morning. Just an hour of precious moonlight left to enjoy my beloved. I promptly removed our bags from the trunk and entered the house, placing them at the end of the couch. There was nothing so important contained in them that could not wait till morning. Sookie took her time gathering herself and made her way up the steps as I was heating blood for us both in the microwave.

She came into the small kitchen and leaned back against the counter as I removed the blood and silently handed her a bottle. Something about the look of her lips as they cupped the edge of the bottle and sipped delicately sent pleasure to my very core. She was a fascinating creature and I would never tire of studying her. I thought of the little diamond set in platinum hidden in the front pocket of my jeans.

I sat the bottle down, half empty, anticipating the blood exchange I saw in my near future, and moved across the kitchen to place both of my hands around her waist. She smiled behind the glass of the bottle. I dipped my nose to her collarbone, inhaling her sweet scent, moaning a little to communicate my pleasure to her. She arched her neck a few inches away from me as I wetted my lips to place a kiss there. She was making me chase her.

I moved my hand from her waist up to the back of her neck, pressing her throat to my mouth. I licked and kissed at her pulse point, feeling the slow, weak beating still occurring under her skin. She moaned now, her bottle forgotten in her hand. I began to work my other hand beneath the back of her t-shirt, stroking my fingertips across the small of her back, before moving up her spine. She was not wearing a bra and I suspected the same absence of undergarments beneath her jeans. I wanted her shirt gone, and began to work the hem of it upward with my hand. She made a sound of protest and I realized she was still holding her bottle of blood. "Drop it," I instructed with gruffness to my tone. She obeyed and her shirt came to rest in the pool of synthetic blood now coating a generous area of the floor and our feet. I lifted her up by her waist and she wrapped her legs around mine, our mouths locked together as I carried her into the bedroom.

After making love in the shower, we moved our activity to the bed. I delighted in the warmth her body still maintained from the dogged beating of her heart. I placed my hand gently over her left breast and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I like this," I whispered to her. She looked puzzled for a moment. "Your heart is still beating. Though I have longed to spend eternity with you, my love, I would have missed this greatly." She smiled and lifted my hand from her breast, and kissed my palm. "_Gifta mig_."

Her eyes widened. I knew she did not speak my language. I had intended to translate for her once I had retrieved the ring. Perhaps the following evening, as the dawn was swiftly approaching. But I had forgotten about her new ability in the moment and neglected to guard this most precious thought against her.

"Marry you?" She sat straight up in the bed. "Eric…"

"You do not share my enthusiasm." I was upset at her reaction, though I should have expected this from her. It took great fortitude to keep the stream of obscenities from spilling over my lips.

"Why do you want me to marry you?" I was silent as I stared at her, sitting next to me, tearing my heart to pieces. Because it makes sense now that I'm guaranteed to live forever? Why didn't you ask me before I became… whatever the hell it is that I am now?"

"I have tried time and again. You have a propensity for negativity against me, however."

"So you ask me right after amazing sex – I'm happy and you're happy – when everything feels right! You're still trying to manipulate and control me. Me! You say you love me, but you only want to own me. You made me, Eric. Isn't that enough?"

"My intention was to take you as my human wife, not to turn you against your will. Neither one of us had any way of knowing how far we had pushed the line, Sookie. You know that!" She closed her eyes tightly and a pink tear – saltwater and blood – began running down her porcelain cheek.

"Eric, I didn't want this. I wanted babies and a family to raise in my family home." If children were the problem it was correctable. Sookie still bled. A suitable father could be found or adoptions secured. I would do it the moment she asked. "It's not just kids, Eric." Whether she had heard my thought process or guessed, I did not know. "Look how unstable we are! We're fightin' all the time." Now she stood and began casting around the room for clothing. "Of all the times to ask, this wasn't the time." She pulled a tank dress over her head and reached for a cardigan near the bed. I reached my hand out and gripped her shoulder drawing her attention back to me.

"What are you doing?" I demanded. I could feel the weight of the morning pressing in. It would be here in minutes. Somehow it wasn't effecting Sookie in the same vein. She shrugged my hand off of her shoulder like it was nothing to her.

"I can't be here right now." My vision was beginning to black around the edges. I fought to draw strength from her, but our bond had been weakened, if not broken, by her transformation. I felt my body going limp as I watched her gather a few things into a bag.

"You will go to… your… witch. Or to… your shifter, no doubt. Sookie… this is no ones… business… but our own." It was a weak argument but I would try anything to make her stay. Goddamn the daylight!

"It's no one else's business." She said calmly. "And I don't know why it started to fade, Eric, but things just aren't the same anymore." She leaned over me and gently brushed a strand of hair from my pained face. "I need you to let me go. I need some space, not a ring."

All light faded from vision and the last thing I saw were the tears staining her cheeks as I closed my eyes on her face one last time.

***

A/N: Evil, I know!


	25. Leaving

A/N: Songs that speak to the mood of this chapter are _The Verb_ and _The Rain_ both by The Swell Season. That is all.

Enjoy

***

Three weeks had passed since I had last seen Sookie. The first week I had flooded her e-mail and voice-mail in boxes. The charger remained parked in the garage next to the corvette. I found more and more of her clothes missing as I awoke each night until, finally, there was nothing left. By the fifth day, I decided she had had enough space. I arrived at the cemetery just after dark. I waited. I could see the house at the edge of the woods. It seemed to be empty.

I paced the perimeter for over an hour before my phone began vibrating. It was Bill. I had not made public knowledge the news of Sookie's defiance – I had only told Pam. She was infuriated and opted to stay out of the mater for Sookie's personal safety. I flipped the phone open.

"Bill."

"Yes, Eric. I am returning to Bon Temps this evening. I will be traveling back and forth to Texas now, though that should pose no problem with our other business. I just wanted to make you aware…"

"Yes that's fine, Bill. Is that all?" I was impatient; I didn't want to be talking to Bill. I wanted to be talking to Sookie.

"No." He hesitated a moment. I was ready to crush the phone in my fist by the time he continued. "Sookie called me."

"Yes?" I growled between clenched fangs.

"Yes. She wanted permission to stay at my house. I told her she was welcome, of course, but that I could not hide her from you. What did you do to her, Eric?" It was a presumptuous question, though delivered not without respect. Bill knew Sookie was my child and mate.

"Where is she?"

"I assume she is at her home or at Jason's. She does not want to see you, it seems. Can't you just call her? Your control as her maker…"

"Has anyone ever been able to fucking control her, Bill?" At this point I was ready to climb the proverbial wall. I began stalking across the cemetery grounds to the front door of her house. "If you hear from her again, call me." I snapped the phone closed and levitated up the front steps. The lights were out, no heart beat inside the house, but I would wait. I reached my hand out for the doorknob and swung the door open.

My muscles animated my body, moving me toward the entrance of the home, until I tried to extend my foot beyond the threshold. My fist clenched in anger and I punched into a very solid wall of air. If my invitation into her residence had been rescinded, I could only guess I would not find easy admittance into her brother's home, or that of her friends. But public places weren't off limits. I took to the air and across the woods the Shifter's backwoods bar. I was looking for answers and someone would give them to me.

***

I waited outside the establishment, settling in front of the witch's car. I hadn't made our separation public knowledge and I was relying on Sookie's sense of integrity to stick to her word and not broadcast that information as well. Shortly after midnight the back door opened and Amelia stepping into the night, heading for her vehicle. I stood up from my crouched stance and stepped around the car, making myself visible.

"Jesus Christ!"

"Amelia. Where is Sookie? We have things to discuss."

"Eric, you know she doesn't want to talk right now." She had regained her composure and was moving closer to the driver's door, and closer to me. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. She's probably exactly where you think she is." I took another step forward, blocking her entrance to the vehicle.

"I want you to tell me where she is." I dropped my fangs and heard the woman's blood sing with fear, though she kept her composure this time.

"She's at Jason's right now. Some nights she stays with me. But she doesn't want to be here. She said she feels even more out of place now that… You just need to let her have some space. She'll come to you when she's ready."

"She will?" I raised my eyebrows in skepticism. I was quite certain those were Amelia's thoughts and not Sookie's.

"Or maybe not. But, look, Eric. I know you think you – and this thing – are the best that's ever happened to her, but she hasn't always seen it that way. I don't know what made her come back here," I opened my mouth to tell her it was none of her concern, but she continued speaking. "And I don't want to know. Not my business. But she's pretty scared and confused, and as her friend I'm not happy seeing her like this. If I can help her in any way, I will. That includes standing up to you." She stood still in front of me, clinging to her last ounce of bravery.

Out of respect for her friendship with Sookie, and her misguided intentions, I held my anger in check, but the walls would break down soon and no human should be around when that happened. I turned to walk into the woods and make my flight from there.

"Eric," her voice was less steady than before. I stopped my retreat for only a few seconds. "I'll try to get her to call you."

True to her word, the witched worked some kind of magic. In the air, five minutes from Shreveport, my phone rang.

I placed the phone to my ear as I accepted the call, though it was at a loss for words.

"E-Eric?" I heard her for the first time in what seemed like decades. "You don't have to say anything. I think I deserve that." She sighed heavily. "I can't come back to you… right now." A growl escaped me, and I wasn't regretful for it. "I don't know what to think… about us… and I don't know really anything about myself. How I've changed. I can't be who I was anymore and I don't understand what it is I'm supposed to want out of life anymore."

"Sookie…" I began to speak but I was unsure of what I would say next.

"If this is about my safety, I can take care of myself now." What a stupid notion. Sookie had never been capable of taking care of herself. Countless times I had saved her hide – gladly and willingly. "And I don't really believe this is about you trying to posses me. I'm sorry I've said those things, and I've been terrible to you. But I can't take the next step in this with someone… I can't…" I heard her begin to sob on the other end of the phone. "Just… not like this. Don't look for me anymore." She was silent but for the sound of her crying. There was no sound I hated more in this forsaken world than her crying.

She would regret running away like a scared child. She would realize that I could help her find the answers to all of her questions and uncertainty. I could be her teacher, her guide. Her lover, forever. She would return to me, and I could wait. I realized I had nothing left to say that would be of any consequence. I closed the phone and let go, dropping it to the street below me.

"Goodbye, Sookie Stackhouse."

***

A few days after Eric stopped calling, I managed to gather my gumption enough to make a decision. I needed to be away from the craziness – people in Bon Temps already saw me as Crazy Sookie Stackhouse. Now I was Crazy Vampire Sookie. My friends were loyal and my community was growing to like the vampires around town – Bill and Stella. But I couldn't fit myself back into the mold of Sookie Stackhouse, barmaid and telepath. Too much had changed.

I sat on the front steps of my gran's house late one night in October. It had become mine when she died. Now I was dying in a way, crossing over to another place in my heart, and it was going to become my brother's home. He was hauling the last of my few boxes out to my old heap of a car, pre-charger – and Amelia was sitting next to me trying to get me to call Eric once more.

"I said my peace, Amelia. Don't you go pushing it if you expect to see me back here anytime soon." I smiled lightheartedly, but it was far from what I was feeling.

"I'm just saying, it's hard to cut someone like that out of your life. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Literally." She smiled back, trying to help me lighten the mood.

Jason came to join us. He had been a wreck the last few nights, on high alert, wondering if he was going to have to 'protect his women against some kind of vamp attack'. I assured him his hyper vigilance was unnecessary. He grabbed my hand as he took a seat between me and Amelia. He was never great about displays of affection. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and I loved him more then than I had in the last few years since Gran had died. He was the last person I really had that was all mine. But that wasn't true either. He belonged to the woman sitting on his other side too.

"I wanna see new paint on the house next time I come back," I instructed as I stood to walk out to the car. "And I want nieces and nephews," I whispered into Jason's ear as he leaned down to hug his little sister. I smiled at Amelia, squeezed Jason a final time, and set off in the car down the road and west, back to Texas.


	26. Let You Go

A/N: Long time coming, this one. Anything sound familiar? It should. If not you should turn back and read **DP** again. The one song I have to have to recomend for this chapter is _I Have Loved You Wrong_ by The Swell Season. But if you would like a play list please refer to Chapter 12 of **Dead Promises. **Otherwise, be aware that Eric is experiencing a very limited array of emotions (so if you want you can pick the song you thinks best fits a homicidal rage). More will be revealed to you in time. Please enjoy and have a happy and safe Valentine's weekend.

Love

***

I rose that evening with my blood singing. It had been dead, dull since the night she left the state and her little parish town behind her. Since the night she defied the last ounce of power I possessed over her. Perhaps it was me, letting her go. I could have stopped it, but then I would be proving myself to Sookie to be the unfeeling Tyrant she had built me up as in her mind. No, I had let what little hold I had over her slip, and she had built up a strength of her own to break away. If it hadn't been for such cowardice on her part I would have been proud of my Sookie. In a play of irony she had found the courage to break away and hide.

I would bide my time. She wanted to pretend that she could forget me, and I would play along. I went about my business at the bar without hesitation. Who was Sookie to me now, but another human I had turned and eventually released? I found myself short of temper and long of appetite. But for a few waitresses leaving unexpectedly (I remember something about a tray sticking out of a wall after I had thrown it), and a slow night or two, business was running smoothly. I found time to otherwise occupy myself with an exceptional treat tonight.

Her name was Christian. How delightfully ironic. She was seated two tables across from me, with a group of young women and their effeminate male companion. They were having a rather banal conversation. Nothing noteworthy. Though the girl had been singled out, being the only one of the group not dressed like I whore looking for currency. They thought to belittle her for it. She was a young woman, twenty-five or there-abouts, with long-ish dark blond hair twisting in strands around one another. She wore a slim fitting pair of black jeans and a loosely fitted heather grey t-shirt with a pleasantly scooped neck. She smelled of opium perfume and icewine. Becoming bored of their slanderous comments she removed herself from the group.

I watched her as she walked past my table and back behind the bar, looking for the women's washroom. I was there before she had rounded the bar counter and took a step forward and reached for her elbow. She looked up and met my eyes. Lovely.

"The facilities are out of service for the evening. May I show you to the employee washroom?" I smiled my warmest smile and moved my hand from her arm to her waist.

"Thanks, but I don't really need the restroom, just somewhere to settle down," she volunteered.

"Oh, of course," I said. "Your friends are not being pleasant this evening. Are you very upset?" I sent my influence across the connection I had made as I steered her towards the back of the bar. She burst into tears. "Shh. Hush, now." I quickly ushered her into my office and locked the door behind us. I moved her in front of my desk, placed both of my hand on her waist, and gently lifted and sat her down on top. She was quietly sniffling now. "You will wait here. I am going to pour us a drink," I instructed her as I stepped back to grab a single glass and bottle from a shelf against the wall. I poured a shot of scotch into the bottom of the glass and handed it to the girl.

"But, where's yours?" She asked after the liquid in her glass was gone. I took the empty glass from her and sat it down next to the bottle on the shelf.

"I don't drink… alcohol." I said quietly while holding her gaze locked onto my eyes. I let my fangs come down and I smelled her fear begin to bubble to the surface. "Tell me about your job," I asked quietly, stroking her arm reassuringly. I did not relish the fear in her blood. Pleasure tastes so much better.

"I'm a therapist, massage therapist. I'm not working right now." She let out a long sigh and her voice took on a defensive tone. "My boyfriend, Mitchell, is a photographer and my friends think I'm living off him in exchange for sex. He doesn't want me to work cause he can support us. He says he wants me to be part of his next project. Something about exploitation. They think I'm using him, but they don't see… they don't know what he's like."

Here she broke out into genuine tears. Not sobs, just a few tears rolling slowly down each blushing cheek. Quite beautiful really. "This… Mitchell… is being exploitive?" I brushed a tear away with my thumb. "I do not exploit women. I enjoy them for what they are. And you are beautiful. I could certainly enjoy you."

She nodded meekly as I continued brushing the tears away. "Yes. You seem nice."

_Not really_, I thought to myself. I leaned in and gently kissed her jaw, just below her ear. I was standing quite close to her now and I felt her part her knees in front of me, allowing me a step closer. I curled one hand around her cheek, pulling her face closer to mine, and let the other search between her legs. She was wet through the fabric of her jeans. She moaned as I stroked up and down her inner thigh teasingly. I let my tongue linger around her neck and the base of her ear. My fangs extended fully and I scraped them across her carotid artery.

She sharply inhaled and held a breath. As her arousal had been growing I had loosened my influence. Now I tightened the reins once more. "Have you ever been bitten?" I whispered into her ear.

"Can't… leave marks," she was breathing heavily now. "Bad for photos."

I stopped moving my hands and pulled my head back to look into her eyes, still mesmerized. "And what if I promise not to leave any marks? Hmm? Not a single one." I made sure to slide just the softest implication of sex into my voice.

With that she slid down off the desk top, and I felt my grin spreading. I placed one hand on an ample breast beneath her shirt, and the other on her hip, pulling her backward with me toward the couch.

I sat back, lifting her into my lap, straddling me. I pulled her mouth down to mine. She tasted bittersweet, like the liqueur she had consumed. Her breath was hot and wet. As she lightly touched her tongue to one of my fangs, I heard my phone ring. I encouraged her to continue kissing me as I pulled the offending technology from my pocket. I glanced sideways at the Caller ID. Bill. I hit ignore.

With a moan from the girl I let my fingers find their way back beneath her shirt. She leaned her head back and I let my lips play lightly across her throat, listening intently to the sounds she emitted.

Once more my phone was ringing. Once more I ignored the call. As I began unbuttoning the girl's pants, eager to slide them down the soft flesh of her hips, I received a text from Bill.

_Urgent. You must call me._

I let out a sound, half moan half growl and sent a quick text to Pam.

_Office. Now._

In a moment, the girl was seated in the space next to where I had been, and I was unlocking the door to admit Pam. "Straighten her up and bring her back in the front. Leave her at the table of whores." I turned my head to Christian. "You will tell them that the restrooms are filthy and you want to leave. Do not drive, you are too _intoxicated_. Pam will call you a cab." She looked positively crushed, but that wasn't my problem.

When they were out of the room I began to dial Bill. The phone began ringing before I had hit send.

"It is urgent, Bill?" I was sure to let the last few weeks frustration seep into my tone.

"Eric." There was silence for a moment. Then Bill spoke. I could feel the atmosphere in the room begin to get heavy. There was a rushing sound in my ears, as if water or wind or blood were flowing at extraordinary speed around me. I thought I heard him speak her name.

"What did you say?" It sounded strange to me, my voice. As if all color had been drained from the world in front of me and the sounds coming out of my mouth reflected the monotony of that world. Flat. Dead.

"Eric, are you listening to me? Sookie… she… There's been a fire. Eric…"

"Where?" I cut him off. I began seeing flashes in my memory, more clearly than the physical objects in front of me. I was regaining something I had lost, or chosen to forget. So much like that January I had spent in her home. As another vampire.

"Stella's house. It's gone, Eric. She… she's…"

I hung up the phone. I refused to hear those words.

***

I met with Jason and Amelia the following evening. Bill remained in Englewood, tying up the loose ends that always seem to follow death and destruction. Three had died in the fire at the house on Stella's property. Tyler – the strange girl from the funeral – and Stella. And the telepath. The woman who wanted to mean nothing more to me than a passing thought. But she was so much, much more than that.

Both humans had been crying – the witch was red-eyed and puffy, but functional. Jason was beside himself. There was no effective way of communicating with him but through Amelia. I came to their home – Sookie's home – and little was said. There were few people left by the time I arrived. It was difficult walking through the house, seeing Sookie's room without her things in it. It wasn't much different really, just absent. Absent of her familiar feel, as though she had been gone for decades already.

I tried to make sense out of the conversation that was taking place around me. Jason was sobbing and Amelia was attempting to translate. I was standing in the kitchen with a bottle of blood in my hand, as I had many times over the last few years. Finally the phone began to ring and Amelia made Jason take the receiver after answering it herself.

"That was Calvin Norris. They still consider Jason part of their pack, and he was always… fond of Sookie." I didn't much care about Calvin Norris. I began to walk out of the kitchen, through the small living room and out the front door. I could feel Amelia following me. I stopped on the porch and she moved around me staring at me for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Eric. You know it was always you," she whispered in my ear as she reached one arm around my shoulders. It was as though those words were echoing around my empty body for the next three days.

Bill returned the next evening, bearing Sookie's possessions with him. He left them at the bar with Pam and she delivered them promptly to my home. I would not allow her to stay, telling her she was of more use at the bar, and it was the truth. What use would she be to me? She could not bring back the dead.

I placed her possessions in the spaces they once occupied in what had become our home over the last year. The quilt, her books, they were as familiar to me as her supple warmth next to my body in bed each day. The tears I shed in our bedroom, staining the quilt and several pages of her favorite books, were the only tears I would shed over her departure from me. The finality of this was desperate and crippling.

I was a different vampire when I entered the shifter's bar the next evening. Her memorial service was held at night, at Merlotte's, as per her wishes. Each of her closest friends and family picked several songs to be played instead of a scripture reading or eulogy. Candles illuminated pictures of Sookie and her family, her friends, displayed all around the bar.

I sat a table near the exit, with my back to the wall, watching everyone. All of these people who took her for granted. Half of them had written her off as crazy. Bill and Calvin flanked Jason all night. Sam shuffled back and forth, trying to keep busy. Pam sat next to me and we were joined periodically by Tara, or Amelia, or one of the waitresses trying to offer comfort. I was unable to focus on the music, the people, the offerings of condolences. I could see only one thing clearly in my vision, and it was blood.

There was a small note in Bill's neat script tucked inside one of Sookie's books. His precise letters spelled out the word _ARSON_. I knew in the early moments of the dawn this morning that I had a new purpose. It was what kept me from tearing apart everything and everyone around me. The knowledge that someone would pay, and pay beyond a human reckoning, for what they had taken from me was bittersweet and burning to be realized.


	27. Watch It Burn

A/N: I'm not good at writing violence. Not sure but this might be quite graphic for some. I think it pales in comparison to anything Eric would actually come up with, though. So, there's your warning. Some of the songs I listened to while writing were _Dirt Room_ by Blue October and _The Sharpest Lives_ by My Chemical Romance. I'm not done writing yet. There will be at least one more chapter and probably an epilogue. So, without further ado...

***

The cellar in the back of Bill's house was as good a place as any to carry out interrogations. Bill was more than happy to oblige me in my request. After speaking to the police in Englewood under the guise of an insurance claims investigator, I was able to determine that the fire was being treated as an accident. The arson investigator had determined the ignition point to be a faulty wire in the kitchen, where the women had all been found. I began my search there.

I pressed my sources in Texas to look into the Arson Investigator for me, just to make sure I wasn't overlooking a case of an underpaid, bribed official. I wasn't disappointed. Thinking he was being smart and would secure possible future monetary compensation from his benefactor, the investigator had kept a log of the original report on his personal computer. Not only was he mistaken in the assumption that the culprit would pay more for his continued silence, he was amateurish in his attempts at keeping his deceit hidden.

I laid my eyes on the official report myself, after Bill procured a copy through several less than reputable computer programmer acquaintances. The fire had indeed begun in the kitchen. It had burned hot and it had burned long. I had been burned several times in my thousand years. It was painful and difficult to recover from, though my body had been less exposed, and much more capable of recovery.

I set my jaw in a tight line and set off to the small Houston suburb to procure my witness for questioning.

***

It only took one phone call to Stella for me to find a place to live and work. She was dealing with a lot right now, between losing her full time Englewood manager and compensating for the grief of her sister, Tyler. Not to mention grieving herself.

In the short time I had seen Stella at the funeral I had gained an insight into what Austin really meant to her. She encompassed so many different things for the female vampire. I was bombarded with thoughts of love – romantic and familial – acceptance, loyalty, companionship, trust, and most of all I realized that Stella was grieving for denying what she really wanted. She had wanted Austin. But Austin hadn't believed in the love that Stella offered, and she denied to herself her love for the female vampire. Things were strained between them and I sensed that Bill had a little to do for the cause of that.

When I arrived I moved myself into the spare room at the apartment. Tyler assured me it would be fine, but she shut herself off whenever I was around. Her looks were untrusting and she internalized a self-loathing that was exhausting to be around. I was still convinced that I was in her life for a reason; I just had to give her time.

Tyler had gone over the big house shortly after I had woken up tonight. She was going to be making up a new schedule with Stella. Abel was at a lab tonight, and Bill was driving in from Shreveport. It was the first real time I'd been alone since coming here and I was determined not to let myself second guess why I had left so much behind.

I was curled up on the couch at the apartment, watching _30 Rock_ and thinking of Jason and Amelia. It had been a little over a week since I called, but I was trying to give them some space. Tyler's dog was barking at the apartment door, so I stood up to let him into the yard. When I reached the door my stomach sank.

The orange and yellow flames were licking up out of the back door near the kitchen and smoke was pouring out, but I couldn't see from where. I burst through the door into the yard and the roaring of the fire was deafening. I stood frozen for a moment, flashing back to Charles Twinning. But he was dead and there were people in there that needed help. I couldn't let the fear of that night stop me from acting. The dog was loose and barking, running up and down the street. That was good, we needed the fire department and I'd left my cell phone inside. But he would get someone's attention. I couldn't waste anymore time.

I ran barefoot across the concrete drive, burning my feet from the heat that had already been absorbed into the ground. I was unprepared for the blast of heat that hit me when I reached the door. I was sure I was starring down the sun, and I wondered what it might feel like now that I was a pseudo vampire. I shook the thought out of my head and focused on trying to get through the sliding glass door. There was a large potted plant next to the apartment door. I channeled all the speed I could and sprinted back to the apartment.

Stepping away from the blazing house was like sinking under the cool ocean water, but I forced myself back into the burning air. In seconds the concrete planter left my hands and smashed a hole through the door, sending black smoke billowing out toward me. My instincts were screaming to run, but I braced myself and pushed through the broken glass and into the house.

It wasn't something I had to do, breathing, but it set off a wave of panic when I realized it wasn't an option. I inhaled without thinking and immediately regretted it. A common misconception about vampires is that they don't feel pain. I remembered making the same assumption before I actually knew any vampires. I'd known Bill and Eric had experienced physical pain – after Rhodes, and the fairy war, especially. Now that I was partially undead, I was learning firsthand.

I gulped down a lungful of fire and ash before I thought to stop my respiration (after a lifetime of breathing it's a hard habit to kick). Once I had recovered from the burning sensation in my chest, I sent my mind out in search of anyone that could be helped. That's when the beam came down on my head.

***

I had done my research and stocked my 'arsenal'. I had been biding my time for months now, letting the decaying bastard wonder just what had happened to his inside man at the arson unit. Missing Persons was wondering as well, but they would never find him.

Pamela had parked my corvette outside of the club and would see that it was returned safely to my home, should I remain elsewhere by close of business. A small black duffle bag sat in the back of Sookie's Charger, waiting to be made useful. I text messaged Pam that the night had begun. I climbed into the car, turned the key in the ignition, and made the five and a half hour drive in just under four hours – not to Houston, but New Orleans.

Victor was easy enough to locate. He had restored and converted the Queen's old apartments into a posh casino, most of the revenue going to line his pockets rather than the treasury of the King, as intended. No wonder Victor was falling out of favor with Felipe.

Security was especially lax, and even if I was stopped, I was simply a patron, enjoying a bottle of blood, trying to find my way back to the party within. I had dressed for the occasion. If Johnny Cash always looked as if he was attending a funeral, tonight, I was with Mr. Cash. I parked the car behind the casino, at the edge of what had been the Queen's exquisitely landscaped back lawn. It was decently kept these days but nothing of its former glory.

Once within the building, I could feel Victor in the room, the sheer depravity and unworthiness radiating from him. He was surrounded by women – whores. I retracted my fangs which had come down sometime between here and the door, held firmly to the opened bottle of Royalty in my hand, and stepped into his circle of courtesans.

"Eric. What a surprise. I hadn't anticipated seeing you again. I was sure you might meet the sun after such a horrible ordeal as you have gone through… loosing your bonded." He smiled and waved the rabble away, motioning for me to take a seat at his table.

"Is Felipe aware that you hold court at this facility as if you were him?" I took my seat easily across the table. I was within sight of it now. I could taste his blood running down my fangs.

"Felipe rejoices in the knowledge that I am, and always will be his royal and loyal advisor. He was loath to see me under arrest."

"You will only ever be loyal so long as it serves your purposes. But I come to give you reason to celebrate." I sat the bottle and an envelope down on the table between us. He looked the bottle more closely than the envelope. "Perhaps you would like a taste?"

"Northman, how little faith you have in me. I would never accept the offer of a drink or meal from you – no matter the vintage. What is this." He reached around the bottle for the envelope drawing it towards him.

"Some thing that should make you happy." I waited for him to begin pulling the corner of the paper from the envelope. "It's my resignation." I dropped my fangs slightly and smiled broadly as he looked up in surprise. A grin spread across his face as he let out a bark of laughter.

"Perfect. I don't know what I do to deserve this gift. After all I've beaten you like a dog and instead of fighting back you run with your tail tucked. What is this, now? What does this say?" He studied the words on the page more carefully for a second. I reached for my bottle and stood, watching him begin to comprehend the meaning of my letter to the King. "You can't be serious. You think I'm going to pass him this libel?"

"No, I'll be delivering it to Sandy next week when she comes through. I only thought it might give you pleasure to know what I intend." I turned on my heels and began navigating deeper into the building toward the exit to the back lawn. As I expected, Victor followed me.

I began to slow my pace as I walked out beyond the security lights, getting closer to the street. Victor was closing slowly, taking more labored steps. He looked confused so I thought I might help him figure it out.

"Lunar caustic, Victor – silver nitrate." I smiled as his knees began to buckle and he fell to the grass. His voice escaped him in a low whisper.

"The letter."

"Yes, the letter. There was a sealant on the envelope preventing it from saturating through and affecting me. The letter was real enough, though." I reached down and lifted the immobilized bastard to his feet, supporting him as we walked the last few steps to the street and the car. "I know exactly how you've _kicked me like a dog_." I spit the words out like a poison. "I know exactly how hot she burned. You will too." He gulped down what was meant to be a scream, and by this point his struggling was less deterrent than a small child in my arms. "Felipe will know every scheme and racket you have going. He will know why you have killed and who. And he will do with me what he wishes, but he will know the truth." I sat him gingerly in the passenger's seat of the vehicle and made my way around to the driver's side.

We drove in silence through the town, out to the swamps, to a dry hill I had selected weeks ago. By the time I turned off the vehicle Victor was motionless, only his eyes were responsive. I laid his limp body out on the ground and stripped his shirt open. My bag sat open at my feet as I held the glass container in a gloved hand. "This will hurt." I began to pour the liquid out of the container and over his chest, baptizing him in sulfuric acid. There was no voice to his screams. I almost wished I could hear them.

As his flesh began to disintegrate, I reached into the bag with my still gloved hand and removed a silver tipped scalpel. I knelt beside the monster recognizing the irony in the fact that by avenging my beloved, I had become the very thing she had abhorred about our kind. I was just as much of a monster. I set the blade over his heart and began making my incisions. The blood that gushed from the severed skin and muscle was a putrid black brown color.

I went back to the bag, resolute now in finishing what I had begun, and traded the scalpel for the acetylene torch. I cauterized the opening around Victor's heart with a flame that burned near 6,000 degrees fahrenheit. A human would have been dead from the shock of it, probably long before this point. But the immortality that Victor had taken for granted had afforded him the opportunity to witness his demise until the very last.

I removed the final acetylene tank from the bag, and placed it in the cab of the car next to the duffle bag. Its purpose had been fulfilled. Victor was next. I lifted him – not without care – and placed him across the front seats. "From here you will see the sun rising above New Orleans. And as you watch your city burn, remember, it's important to have enemies, Victor. They keep you strong. You taught me that." I left the car door open just enough that the sun would creep in slowly covering his body. And shortly after sunrise, the small amount of C4 in the glove compartment would go off, igniting the acetylene, and taking the car and evidence down in flames.

I took to the sky, bitter and unsatisfied. And I knew then that nothing would satisfy this hurt.


	28. The Begining

A/N: This is the final chapter. I've had fun. Hope you all did as well. Tried to make this lighter than the last one. As always, reviews are appreciated. No song really goes with this chapter, though i listened to a lot of Yoav (_Beautiful Lie, The end, Where Is My Mind_), Iron and Wine (_Cinder ans Smoke, Love Vigilantes, Resurrection Fern, Carousel_) and so forth, just to name a few. Have a wonderful weekend. I promise I'll be back with another story soon.

-Yve

ps. Page breaks fixed. Should make more sense now. Sorry.

***

I felt the warmth spreading pleasantly through my arms and legs to the tips of my body. The same warmth you feel after a bath – soft, deep and luxuriating. Comfort. The way the heat of your body warms your sheets as you slide between them at night, and heats up your pajamas, reactivating the fresh scent of the laundry. It encompassed me, and I embraced it.

At first, it was shockingly cold after the heat of the flames. Then the warmth began slowly creeping in. I couldn't feel the beam on my body anymore and I had the weird sense that I would get after being knocked unconscious, only to end up awake in Eric's office, or my own bed with Eric sitting next to me. It was disorienting. I struggled to open my eyes and determine which of the usual places he had brought me to.

I began to feel, rather than hear, a melodic pulsing. I opened my eyes onto a hazy greyness. I had no sense of direction – which way was up – but I knew somehow I wasn't lying down, and I hadn't consciously stood up. I couldn't quite get a physical grasp on myself. I kept my words to myself until I could figure out what was going on.

I heard heavy breathing to my left and shifted my attention in that direction. It was Tyler, standing in the same greyness next to me. I could only focus on her face. The rest of her features were a blur.

_I'm here too_, I whispered.

_Where's here?_ She hissed back. I shook my head in silence. The temperature began to increase faster. I was drawn to focus on a bright spot in the mist in front of me, growing larger. As it came into focus I realized it was some kind of _person_. Its features were shifting through the multitudes of possibilities – male, female, black, white, and brown, even an ethereal transparent color. It was difficult and beautiful to look at all at once.

_The Land of The Blest. The gates to the afterlife. Welcome Home._

It took me a few moments to connect the voice to the being in front of me. The shifting was slowing down and I began focusing on a very tall, very pale woman with strong features and jet-black hair. She was draped in robes of varying shades of grey and white, silver and a delicate light gold. I looked t her hand and in it was a single, long and delicate brown feather. I shook my head in disbelief.

_Believe. Yes, Childe. I am Ma'at. Some call me Minos, Manannan, or Nelkiri. Your Viking would see me as Hel, and your gran recognized me as Saint Peter. I am the Gatekeeper, Guide, and Judge. She sees me as a beautiful lady and nothing more, for she lost her faith when she lost her family – though it began to crumble long before that. _

_Where's my sister? If you see all of those who die, tell me where she is. _Tyler was being direct. It was a question I was looking to have answered too – where was gran? And Trey, and all of the other friends and family who were lost to me?

_Where is Stella?_ I asked instead. I couldn't imagine a vampire surviving a fire like that… I hadn't. Now I would learn what all of those extremist religious groups were speculating – what happened to vampires after death.

_They do not belong to me yet. They have things yet to learn on earth. Stella Walker has returned to make a new life now. Austin Thompson… she will arrive later. Do you not wish to know of your fate here? But I suppose concern for those you loved in life still has powerful hold of you both. I will show them to you. Let me first explain why you re here._

I looked at Ty. This was bizarre but we both seemed to be taking it relatively well. Incredibly well. I couldn't understand the calm that was encompassing me. I went with it willingly. What else could I do?

_You have been down that path before. You know where it leads. The knowledge you take with you each time will become clearer the longer you are with me. Old souls, some would call you both. This is the next step. Before the gate is open to you, you must learn what you can from me. Then you will travel on to the next, beyond. I will never go there with you. _It sounded sad, but she smiled when I thought this. Could she hear my thoughts? Suddenly I realized that I couldn't hear anything but my own. _ Do you wish to see them?_ She asked.

_Yes._ We spoke as one voice.

I thought she was speaking of my gran, or maybe Stella or Austin. But as I blinked, I was looking into my old kitchen. I saw my brother, cooking burgers in a skillet at the stove. I reached my hand out to touch him, but my fingers felt nothing. Amelia walked up behind him. She said a few words I couldn't hear and Jason turned round quickly. She pulled something from behind her back. A plastic stick and sheet of paper. Jason stepped forward and looked at the pregnancy test. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist. They began to cry.

_Stella Walker has begun a new life,_ Ma'at said.

I shook my head in disbelief.

A whirlwind swept up at our feet and we were standing in a glen in Ireland. I don't know how I knew that. A little girl with wavy brown hair and golden eyes came running up the hill, chasing a border collie. I recognized the man running behind her. It was a much older version of Sam. My jaw dropped. _Sam's daughter?_

_Sam's granddaughter. She will be called Devonee._

_Austin._ Ty reached a hand out to the little girl. _She's exactly the same except for the eyes. She's ok. I want to see her._

_She won't know you, Childe. But you may watch her grow. You will see her again. _

_***  
_

"So, can we head to the store? I'm out of ice cream, and I could really use some dutch chocolate right now. You need some more blood anyway."

I raised my brows skeptically, and took another sip of my blood. If she wished to ignore the issue at hand, that was fine with me, but I would make her suffer for it. She could use the practice, anyway. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the car keys, and tossed them to her. She looked at me in amazement. I could tell she was about to protest and I gave her a warning glance. I headed to the door, then decided to soften a bit, pulling Dev close to me and holding her for a moment before leading her out the door.

We were quiet as she started the vehicle, pulling it out of the garage and heading down the long driveway toward the road.

"You know you cannot continue this way." I broke the silence, breaking my vow to leave her be tonight.

"What?"

"Mourning is healthy to a degree, but you cannot become buried in it. You are stronger than this. It is not in your character…" I launched into my explanation.

"Wait. Stop. Are you telling me how long it's _suitable_ for me to grieve? I can't believe you! You have no right! I… I… Fuck!" She began crying silently. I could tell she was holding her breath. I counted to ten. I tried to explain.

"That's not what I'm saying, Devonee. Slow down. I'm telling you that you are letting your pain evolve into something that… something that is no longer useful to you. It will only do you harm." She was speeding up now. She had never driven this fast in the dark.

"Fuck you." It was barely more than a whisper.

As we crested a hill, the headlights brought into focus the pine tree that was down over the width of the road. I saw it at the same moment she did, but I reacted first. I reached for the wheel and pulled hard to the right, trying to fishtail us, so the rear of the car would take the brunt of the impact. Unfortunately, inexperienced as she was, Dev slammed her foot down on the brake peddle.

I was launched from the car and had enough intelligent thought to try to fly away from the vehicle so it did not impact my body as it flipped end over end into the air. I flew with much more force than I had intended and crashed directly into a Live Oak.

I was weakened by the wound on the left side of my head, and loosing precious blood. I couldn't hear her screams any longer and feared that had been the end of her. I needed to stand. To walk. To find her. I would never forgive myself for loosing her. Not now. Not like before. I waited as long as my body kept me down, closing the wound on my forehead enough to cover the bone.

I saw the car and rushed to the smoldering heap of metal. She wasn't inside. I smelled blood and saw a crumpled figure covered in broken glass, lying on the ground several feet from the demolished vehicle. A tree limb was protruding from her right side. There was too much blood – the ground beneath her was stained darkly with it.

"Nej! Hel, skicka henne tillbaka till mig! Devonee! Dev?"

"I get to meet her now," she spat out at me, blood spraying from her mouth. I had no time to contemplate her meaning. I leaned over her, stroking the skin of her throat. I wanted to apologize for what I must do, but she would not hear me. She was going fast. My fangs shot down and I opened the artery beneath her pale skin. Her blood flowed into my mouth sweeter than it had any right to be. She was dying, and I was her last link to this world.

I drank her deeply, though not as deeply as I would have to if she had not suffered such heinous injuries. She was fading completely in mere moments. I tore my mouth away from her lifeless form and ripped my wrist open, holding the gushing wound to her lips. Unconscious though she was, her survival instincts took over and she was able to draw on the wound for a few moments before I felt her go completely limp in my arms.

The act was complete. Devonee was dead for now. She would awaken in three days time. I would find a safe place to lay her to rest until then. I gathered her up and took to the air, heading toward Bon Temp.

***

I could never forget what had transpired four decades ago, a blood bond is not a common occurrence, and therefore indelible in one's memory. Yet I was content to experience a small loss again when I thought of Sookie. It affirmed the reality of what I held within my grasp.

I would have liked to go to my window in Austin to watch the sun creeping over the horizon, but I did not have that luxury in Shreveport. I still had twenty minutes till sunrise and I was compelled to stand out in the crisp morning air. Once again, as I stepped outside, I was sure this was where I belonged.

The sky began to color itself teal as the dawn began her ascent. I looked across my lawn in the direction the sun would rise, and a woman was standing about twenty feet from me. Gold hair swirled around her body down to her waist. Her eyes were a piercing blue that was visible even from this distance in the half-light of morning. She wore a long grey cotton dress that whipped around her in a phantom breeze. My senses should have been on high alert, but I stood there, dazed and staring at this creature before me.

In an instant she was no longer across the lawn but standing within arms reach. I knew I was not dreaming, because vampires don't dream. Sookie stood before me.

Like a mute idiot, I reached my hand out to touch her. She was there. And more beautiful than any creature on this earth had a right to be.

"Eric," she breathed her sweet breath, flavoring the air between us. I would never forget that taste.

"You will tell me that she is the answer." Sookie smiled at me.

"No, this is not that time. You have been given a gift. You wanted to go back. To change things. Did you learn anything?"

"You sent me back?" I was having a hard time registering that she stood before me, let alone the possibility of her bending time to her will.

"I gave you a chance. I didn't say it would solve anything. I said things wouldn't happen the same way twice. That doesn't mean you can move heaven and earth to keep them from happening. What do you think would happen if we did it all over again?" She smiled wickedly. I shook my head. "I wouldn't recommend it. Are you ready to move forward now?"

"I've missed you."

"I know," she said. "I've felt it."

"I loved you. We belonged to each other. I was going to marry…" She held up her hand to silence me.

"I can only keep you safe from the sun for so long. There is an end to this world, but it's not today." She began retreating into the coming daylight, her face beatific against the dawn. "Goodbye for now."

I felt the tears begin to wet my cheeks and I let them fall. There was no one but the silence surrounding me to witness them. I slowly turned, the sunlight at my heels, and retreated to the safety of my house.

"Goodbye for now, Dear One."


End file.
